Not Dead, Not Anymore
by n7walker
Summary: This is the novelization of the trials of Shepard and Miranda.   The story starts in ME2 and continues throughout my ME3 and Beyond. Been gone for almost a year, but I'm back and ready to GO!
1. Chapter 1

Miranda stood in the laboratory, taking it all in slowly. The two other men in the room were talking softly to each other. She motioned for them to stop. She wanted to remember everything about this moment. She wanted to be able to recall every sight. She wanted to evoke the memory of the hum of the equipment around her. She hoped, however fruitless it may be, to one day forget the sick after taste in her mouth. If the project proved successful, she wanted to be able to recollect every sense that she felt in this moment sans the sickness of course. She gathered her strength, hiding her inner doubts, and pulled the sheet to reveal the mangled remains of her subject. She uncovered the sheet from the entire body and took in the entirety of the damage.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Jacob coughed and gagged. Miranda quickly shooed him away from the subject. Jacob walked to the trash can on the far side of the room and heaved into it. Miranda heard Wilson snicker from behind. Miranda rolled her eyes at the man and returned to her examination. Much of the subject's body had been severely damaged due to the vacuum of space. The lack of any moisture in the body indicated that his suit had ruptured and depressurized. Miranda picked up her recorder.

"Preliminary analysis of the body confirms previous theory. Subjects Alliance issue armor, designated 'N7', suffered irreparable damage. As far as the circumstances at the time. Depressurization ensued, causing the fluids in the subject's body to freeze and crystallize." She moved a small light to examine what was left of his face. Miranda had been staring at pictures of the subject for the better part of six weeks. It pained her to see that the once beautiful face had been reduced to this. She continued, "While theory speculates the body to go into an instant shock and a quick death, witness statements and evidence previously logged, suggest that the subject may have been alive for several moments before succumbing to his death." Miranda recalled the statement given by Jeff Moreau. The man had been traumatized by the events, yet he had been able to give her a very accurate account of all that had unfolded. She shuddered when she remembered the evidence of his death. The MAAG (Mass Artificial Atmosphere Generator) that had been installed on his suit had been pawed on in an almost frantic manner. The generator maintained the suit's internal atmosphere as well as stabilizing the body's core temperature. The MAAG had been hit by debris and had been rendered useless. Miranda wondered what the man must have thought as his life was being ripped away. "It must have been excruciating." she quietly said to herself.

Wilson had joined her at the table. Miranda saw that Wilson didn't share her same appreciation for the significance of the moment. He was pawing away at the subject, cutting the burned sleeves off of his body. "Ooh a tribal tattoo, well aren't you a badass. Yeah I was gonna get a tattoo but then I decided to go to college." he laughed at his own joke. Miranda withered at the man's guffaw.

"He went to college too Wilson. And from what I have seen from your personnel records, he got significantly better marks than yourself." Wilson was stunned at Miranda's outburst. From across the room Jacob, head still in the trash can, laughed loudly.

Wilson tried to regain his footing. "Yeah, well if he's so smart, why's he dead?" Miranda fought every urge to not punch Wilson in the face. The death of this man had nothing to do with his intelligence. It was due to a surprise attack from an unknown force and the man's self sacrifice to save the lives of his crew. While Miranda didn't agree with the man's actions, it fit in line with everything she knew of him. Wilson had, in one statement, managed to turn this brilliant man into a blubbering fool who was only good for following someone else's orders. Why the Illusive Man had assigned him onto this project was beyond Miranda's understanding. She was sure there had to be more talented engineers in the Cerberus ranks. Hell, she knew the man lying on the table in front of her, was ten times the engineer that Wilson was, although he was in no position to help at the moment. Miranda did her best to focus on the job at hand. She had a sneaking suspicion that Wilson only acted in this manner to get a rise out of her. She refused to rise to his baiting. Besides she was more intrigued by the tattoo that Wilson had been examining. Pushing him aside, she ran her gloved fingers over the length of the inked skin. The pattern ran from his wrist all the way to his shoulder blade. It even curved and partially ran down his back. She had been surprised by this revelation. In none of her research information had there been any mention of a tattoo, let alone one of this size and beauty. Its intricate designs and smooth wavelike patterns were almost hypnotic.

She pulled herself away from the tattoo and continued her examination. "Subject has received severe burns and scarring, most likely due to radiation from the unprotected exposure of the nearby star. It is my belief that even if the project is a success, he will probably suffer a significant amount of scarring."

Miranda stepped away from the examining table. She called for the technicians waiting outside the door. "Put the body through decontamination one more time. I want you to make sure the body is free of any foreign substances." The technicians nodded in confirmation and wheeled the body out of the room. She turned back to Wilson and Jacob. "Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I need to inform our benefactor of our readiness to begin." _And see if I can get rid of Wilson, _she thought to herself. Walking to the communications room, she couldn't help but feel relieved to be away from the exam room. It embarrassed her how unnerved she had been at the corpse of the man. When the asari, T'Soni, had delivered him to her, she refused to open then container. After the first examination, she spent hours locked in her bathroom nauseas from the experience. The man she had spent so much learning about, was not the shell lying in the other room. It was her job however, to recreate him using techniques that they would have to develop along the way. If the plan worked, she would have created something that only God had been able to do before. She was in all essence creating life. Well, recreating it anyway.

The communication room was dark. Making sure that she was alone, she stepped onto the projector. Within seconds she stood before her boss. The Illusive Man sat smoking, as always. He didn't look up from the data pad he was reading. He simply acknowledged her appearance. "Miranda." She straightened up and began the report that she had been practicing for the last several hours.

"Sir. I am pleased to report that the station is operational and the staff and myself, are ready to begin the project as soon as you give the order." The Illusive Man held out the pad and an aide came into screen and quickly hurried off. Miranda watched as he kept his eyes on the aide. She assumed he was waiting until he was alone before continuing. When he seemed satisfied, he asked, "And the package? How is it? I have to admit, I didn't look myself. I'd rather wait and see the final result."

"The 'package' as it were, is being decontaminated as we speak. Wilson seems to think that it is a more than viable test subject." She immediately regretted those last words. For his part the Illusive Man did not lose his cool demeanor. He simply stood and walked closer to her image.

"I don't need to remind you the amount of resources we are pouring into this project. This is a one time special circumstance. You would do well to tell Wilson that this is no common 'test subject'." Miranda felt a small smile creeping to her face. She had managed to get Wilson into a bit of trouble. She did her best to suppress it. Perhaps now was the time to broach the subject of Wilson's dismissal.

"Sir, about Wilson."

She watched as he looked to be preparing himself a drink. "What about Wilson?"

Miranda pressed. "I don't think he is the right person for the job. He is unprofessional, under qualified, and frankly sir, I don't trust him."

The Illusive Man gave a small chuckle. "You think you might have to kill him one day, huh?" He returned to his seat, quickly lighting another cigarette. "Wilson is the best the best biological integration engineer that we currently have available to us at this time. I will keep an eye out for a suitable replacement, but until then, you're going to have to make due." Miranda gave her boss a slight bow. She was going to concede the argument for now, but silently vowed to begin a search of her own. She knew such a scientist would be easy to find if the ventured past the human race. The Illusive Man would do no such thing however, and Miranda was going to have to accept Wilson's presence for the time being. At least until she could find a moment to kill him herself if need be. Miranda turned her attention back to the Illusive Man.

"I'm forwarding all available information to you now sir. Do we have your permission to begin."

"You do. Project Lazarus is a go. The dead have slept for too long. Its time to wake Shepard up."

~o~0~o~

Shepard was back on the Citadel. To be more precise he sat on a small island in the middle of the Presidium lake. He took notice of how empty the Presidium was. Judging by the placement of the artificial sun, it should be a little after 1100 hours. Yet the Presidium remained empty. He couldn't remember how he came to be back on the Citadel, let alone an island in the middle of the lake. He called out for anyone who might be nearby. Nobody came to his aide. He called out for Avina, the Citadel's VI. If he could get her attention, she might be able to alert some assistance for help. Again he was met with deafening silence. "Where is everyone?"

"There's only us skipper." Shepard was startled by the familiar voice that rang out from behind him. Familiar, but impossible. He turned to see Ashley Williams sitting on the edge of the island nearby. Her bare feet dangling playfully in the water.

"Ash? No that's not possible. You died on Virmire. You're dead Ashley."

Shepard saw that the news of her death hadn't seemed to have had any effect on her at all. She continued to splash in the water. A hand fell on his shoulder. Shepard spun to find Benezia standing before him. "Commander, does my little dove…does my little dove still live?" From behind him he heard Ashley snicker.

"Pfft…little dove. I coulda had some fun with that one."

Shepard backed away from the two women. This was impossible. He had seen both women die. Well, he had seen Benezia die. He had assumed Ashley was killed defending the nuclear bomb on Virmire. None of this made any sense. Ashley stood. Both women were now slowly creeping towards him. Shepard felt a sensation that he had never truly experienced before. He felt fear. "Stay back!" he screamed at the women. For a moment he almost jumped into the lake to try and swim to the railings. He was sure that if he could make it to the walkways he would be able to escape whatever unnatural thing that this was. He quickly turned only to see something flying through the air. No, not something, but someone. "No. Nonono, I know for a fact that you are dead. I killed you myself." Shepard felt the memories of that fight welling up into his mind.

"We're running out of time Shepard. They will be here soon and if you can't stop them, then all is lost." Saren stepped off his glider and joined Ashley and Benezia. "I know that now. You can stop them,"

Shepard placed his face in his hands. "No none of this is real. You are all dead."

Ashley spoke. "You're right Skipper, we are dead. And yet you're here as well. What does that make you?"

Shepard looked up. "I don't know what you mean Ash? I don't know what this is?"

Saren gave Benezia a small nod. She approached Shepard and placed her hands upon his face. Suddenly he was back in the Normandy. An unidentified ship had entered the system and had opened fire on them. They had been hit. He gave the evacuation order. Everyone was scrambling towards the escape pods. Liara was there. In the hysteria, Joker remained at the pilot's seat. He refused to abandon ship. She did as well. He begged with her to go. In a split second they shared a look that expressed all the words that there was no time for. She got to an escape pod. She was safe. He turned his attention to the bridge. Amidst the flame and debris and the sudden vacuum he advanced towards the cockpit. He found Joker still at the helm of the skeletal remains of the Normandy. He plead with the man. Reluctantly Joker agreed to leave his post. They got to the last pod only to find themselves once again in the line of the enemy's fire. In an act of desperation, he threw Joker into the cockpit. He saw Joker's face in the porthole screaming for Shepard to join him. Right before hitting the eject button, he parted his fingers in a 'V' formation. He called to Joker "You have and always will be my friend." He laughed and hoped that one day Joker would laugh about it too. The tears running down the young pilot's face suggested otherwise. Shepard slammed his fist into the eject button. Joker's pod roared to life and bolted away from the dying Normandy. The force of the pod threw Shepard into the nearby bulkhead. The magnetization in his suit had somehow shut down. He drifted in space. From his position, he watched as the alien craft took a final shot at the Normandy searing the ship in two and then jumped away. He tried to call out to any of the pods. His comm wasn't working. Suddenly he was cold. He couldn't breath. He clawed at the MAAG unit strapped to his forearm. It was of no use. He screamed in anger, but no voice came out. Suddenly there was….nothing.

It was the turian who spoke. "As I said, we don't have much time. You have to kill Harbinger. If you can kill Harbinger, all the others will fall."

Shepard opened his eyes. Benezia had returned back to standing next to Ashley and Saren. "I don't understand. Is this a dream?"

The asari spoke with great sadness. "The dead don't dream."

"Am I…am I dead?"

Ashley approached and kissed him softly. "Not dead Skipper. Not anymore."

It felt as if a giant hook had suddenly latched on and jerked him from that place. He now found himself blinded by light. Shepard could hear voices. They sounded unfamiliar but very close by. He had the sensation that he was lying down. He tried to will myself up. The voices got suddenly chaotic.

"Miranda something's happening."

"Dammit Wilson, he's not ready." The voice was soft yet commanding. There was also something exotic about it. Shepard tried to speak, but his throat felt as if it were on fire. The woman, he knew to be in charge, was giving the man directions. "Up the dosage. We need to stabilize him."

"If we give him any more, it might kill him."

"Yes, It might. But if he wakes up now, it will DEFINITELY kill him!" The woman was now screaming at the man. Shepard didn't know what was happening, but whoever these people were, they were attempting to put him under some sort of sedation. He tried once again to get up. His body screamed at him not to move. The pain was unbearable, yet he continued to try and fight. That was when he caught a glimpse of his arm. The skin on his have looked burned and cracked. He could see the frayed edges of the ligaments in his wrist. The bones in his fingers were exposed.

He tried to ask for help, but again the words failed to come. Suddenly he felt a cool release through his body. He lay his head back down on the cold surface. He suddenly felt someone hovering above him. He reopened his eyes. Was it an angel? She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She rested a gloved hand on his cheek. "Shhh. It will be okay. Just relax and let the sedation take effect." It was the voice that he thought was so exotic only moments earlier. That voice that was now doing her best to comfort him. Shepard closed his eyes and allowed sleep to retake him.

~o~0~o~

Miranda was furious. Furious at Wilson. Furious at the Illusive Man. But mostly she was furious at herself. It hadn't been the men's fault that Shepard had awoken. Really, it hadn't even been her fault. In truth she should have been ecstatic. It had been almost eight months since they had first fused the small cybernetic implants to Shepard's lymphatic system. A month later his circulatory system had restarted. Despite those minor successes, Brain activity was still inactive. Well until about ten minutes ago it had been inactive. That was when Shepard woke up. Miranda should have been thrilled beyond measure. But she wasn't. She saw the terror in the man's eyes. She saw hurt and confusion and a genuine fear. Miranda closed the door to her office behind her. She was supposed to be on her way to inform the Illusive man of the current happenings, but she couldn't do that right now. She needed a moment to compose herself. She'd heard the whispers and the murmurs before. People called her an ice queen, heartless, or some flat out called her a bitch. _If they could see me now,_ she thought to herself. She didn't know why she was so emotional. _Pull yourself together Lawson, you still have a job to do._ Miranda wiped the perspiration from her head and straightened out her uniform. She needed to make her report. As she walked to the comm room to make her report, she couldn't help but think of his piercing blue eyes and the frantic way they had been darting around the room. She thought of how afraid he had been when he had caught a glimpse of his damaged hand. She then smiled to herself when she remembered the calm that seemed to come over him when his eyes met hers. _Of course that could have been the sedatives,_ she thought to herself. Miranda shook herself away from such thoughts. She didn't understand why she was having these feelings for a dead man. _Not dead. Not anymore._

~o~0~o~

Wilson stood outside of the examination room staring into the window. When Miranda had left, he had been forced to leave as well. The rule was that no one was allowed to be with the body without Miranda's supervision. A few weeks ago a technician had been found in the room innocently empting the waste disposal been. Miranda discovered the woman and within the hour she was being thrown off the station. Since that time, Miranda had installed security measures that even Wilson had yet to figure out how to disable them. The lack of privacy made it extremely difficult for Wilson to do his job. Not the one Cerberus was paying him to do, but the job that the Shadow Broker was paying three times his normal rate for. The Shadow Broker was paying for samples and pieces of the technology that he and Lawson had been developing over the past year. Originally the Broker had only wanted the body of Shepard, but after finding out the reason behind Cerberus' involvement, he had become intrigued with the project. Intrigued as the Broker was, the orders remained the same. He was to retrieve the body of Shepard, not the living breathing version, but the corpse. Now that Project Lazarus was a success, he had run into a problem. He was running out of time. It would be only a matter of time before Miranda would want to begin to test Shepard's thresholds. Wilson needed a way to get into that room, re-kill Shepard, get the body off of the station, and get away without anyone knowing of his involvement. That would be hard to do now. Ever since word had gotten out that Shepard had momentarily awaken, a number of the crew, were finding themselves in the corridor trying to sneak a peak. Wilson turned when he heard a familiar sound. Jacob was approaching flanked by two Loki mechs.

The security operative smiled at him. "I see that Miranda's thrown everybody out?"

Wilson grumbled. "Yeah, she went to inform 'the Overlord' of recent developments."

"So I guess it's true. Shepard woke up?" Wilson nodded in confirmation. Jacob motioned for the mechs. Each Loki took a position in front of the lab door. Wilson watched with a sudden idea.

"Jacob, can you tell me how the mechs work?"

~o~0~o~

Miranda sat in her office reviewing the latest test results. They were astounding. All of Shepard's systems were operating at peak efficiency. His reflexes were all above the watermarks set by the Illusive Man. She had yet to bring him out of sedation since the one time all those months ago. She glanced at the monitor observing Shepard. He looked to be sleeping soundly. Miranda smiled softly. She looked back at her paperwork. Something moving in one of the monitors caught her attention. It was Wilson. What was he doing in the security room? Suddenly the alarm klaxons began to blare. Miranda looked up to see her office doors open. Two Loki mechs entered, their guns pointed at her. Miranda, out of instinct ducked down behind her table. The mechs opened fire. "I order you to stand down. Override: Lawson-Echo-Echo-Sigma." Much to her chagrin, the mechs didn't stop firing. Miranda could hear the screams and gunfire from throughout the station. Miranda had to take matters into her own hands. Summoning her biotic powers she lifted one of her assailants. She quickly hurled the mech into its comrade. The two droids were eliminated. Miranda scrambled back to her feet. The monitors were ablaze with action. Mechs on every level were targeting the crew. She looked for Wilson. He appeared to be cowering himself. _Serves him right, _she thought to herself. Miranda heard the sound of mechanical feet making their way towards her office. Seeing no other options, she grabbed the communicator from her desk. She had no other choice. She had to wake Shepard up.

* * *

Note: This is a story that I've had stuck in my head for a while. I plan for it to be a novelization of not ME2, but the story of Shepard and Miranda's growing relationship. I don't think that there are enough stories about the two of them that deal with actual interaction between the two. Too often the stories that do feature Shep/Miri are those of the kink variety. Which is fine to each their own. For those of you that are following my other stories, do not worry. I am far enough ahead of each story that I am capable of taking on another.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay I'm back. I've been away from civilization for a few weeks getting my head cleared in Tibet. If you ever have a chance, don't forget your iPhone. Glad for the experience, just don't plan on doing it again. Anyways, back to the story.

* * *

"_Two Years."_

The Cerberus woman's words seemed to hover in the small cabin. Had it really been two years since the Normandy had been destroyed, two years since he had…_died?_ None of what the woman said had made since. He remembered the sounds of the alarms, the panic in Joker's voice as screamed at everyone to assume battle stations, the inevitable call to abandon ship. He recalled the desperation in Liara's voice as she begged to stay at his side. _Liara_. Had he known that he was minutes away from death, would he have told her the truth? The truth wasn't as simple as their last few seconds together had allowed. The truth was that while he did care for her, he didn't love her the way that he knew that she loved him, the way that she deserved to be loved. Would he have told her that his love belonged to another, a woman who selflessly gave her life to save the rest? A woman who reminded him that the mission must always come before the individual? It had nearly broken him when Ashley had died. He did his best to swallow his feelings, to ignore the throbbing pain he felt at the loss of someone he held so dear. Miranda gave a small cough, pulling him away from his thoughts of Ashley Williams.

"Commander, I was hoping that I could ask you a few questions? Just to get an idea at how much you remember."

Jacob scoffed. "Tests Miranda? I told you, we ran roughshod over everything those mechs threw at us. If you ask me the Commander is better than ever." Shepard liked the bravado of Mr. Taylor. When he had managed to escape the examination room, he'd come across Taylor. The two of them, with the eventual assistance of a man he knew only as Wilson, managed to fight their way through the base and meet Miranda at the shuttle bay. The woman had then executed Wilson on the basis that it had been he that was responsible for unleashing the terror on the research station. Shepard looked at Miranda.

"What kind of tests?"

He was a little surprised at the look of empathy in the woman's eyes. When she had killed Wilson, he had seen nothing but anger and cold calculation. But now it seemed that she regretted having asked any more of him. Miranda answered, seemingly looking to appease the looks from both men.

"I was hoping to ask, what do you remember? I just want to gauge the levels of your brain function?"

Shepard gave her a small smile. "So you want to make sure that I still remember that I'm human and not some mindless undead monster?"

She smiled, "In a manner, yes." She turned to her partner. "Jacob, if you please."

The man gave a quick glance to the data pad Miranda had handed him. "What can you tell us about your background?"

Shepard looked at the man confused. "My background? What kind of question is that?" He glanced over at Miranda, she remained stoic waiting for his answer. "I am John Vincent Shepard, second of three children to Alliance Naval Commanders David and Hannah Shepard. My father is retired and currently resides on Titan where he spends all of his free time growing roses. He has about as much knowledge of roses as you'd expect from someone who lived their entire adult life as a marine. My mother is the first officer on the Alliance ship Kilimanjaro. In between deployments, she enjoys sitting at their home and pestering her children about the prospects of becoming a grandparent." Shepard paused, Jacob was working hard to try and confirm his story, while Miranda sat emotionless taking it all in. "My older brother Gregory is a lawyer with a small practice on Mars. He has yet to have children for reasons obvious reasons. For what it's worth his 'roommate' Harold, couldn't be a nicer person. My sister Elena," he tried to remember how his mother used to describe the youngest and most rebellious of the Shepard children. "Elena is…a free spirit. The last I heard of her she was studying holistic medicine in Tibet." He looked at the Cerberus officers. "Is that background enough?"

Jacob snickered before Miranda answered annoyed. "Well as enlightening as that was, can we move on." It gave Shepard a small amount of pleasure knowing that he'd annoyed the woman. Jacob, still amused continued.

"What can you tell me about Akuze?

Shepard's moment of levity quickly evaporated. "You want to know what happened on Akuze? You people know exactly what happened on that goddamned planet." He saw a look of confusion on the man's face. Miranda flinched briefly, but long enough that he'd taken notice. "She knows what I'm talking about." He looked back at Jacob. "My unit got a distress call from a downed colonial supply freighter. We were a scouting ship, but we were the only Alliance vessel in the system. When we arrived we found that there was no freighter. We were ambushed. The distress beacon was coming from a thresher maw nest. What I later found out was that it was Cerberus that was behind the ambush. It seems that some people within your organization," he glared at Miranda, she quickly broke off his stare, "Some people thought it would be beneficial to study the affects of maw acid inside the human body." He growled at two. "How did go by the way?"

Sheepishly Jacob answered. "I-uh, I didn't have anything to do with that. It was before my time with the organization." They sat in silence for several minutes before Jacob continued. "Commander, can I ask you about the mission on Virmire?"

Shepard laughed out in disgust. "You're just full of fond memories aren't you?" He felt fidgety. He wanted to talk about anything else. He didn't want to be reminded of her, it hurt too much. Begrudgingly he asked, "What do you want to know?"

Miranda, having joined the conversation, answered. "You managed to destroy Saren's cloning facility. In doing so you left one of your own to die, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. Can you tell me your reasoning?"

He felt the air being sucked out of his person. Quietly he answered the woman. "What do you want me to say, that Ash died a hero? She died protecting the nuclear weapon used to destroy the base. We were spread to thin. I had too make a choice. Go back and save Ashley or save Kaidan Alenko and a salarian STG team. I sacrificed one to save the rest. The woman I loved is dead because I left her to die."

Miranda was taken aback. None of the research or intel they had on Shepard made any mention of a relationship with Ashley Williams. She vowed to kill the brokers that had neglected to share that small bit of data. There was info that there had been a brief relationship with the asari T'Soni, a fact that she had confirmed when the woman had been so reluctant to give Lawson the commander's body. She could see the pain in the man's face. "I'm sorry Commander. We didn't know."

He lowered his head and stared at the floor. "It's bullshit you know. Nobody dies a hero, they just die." Miranda fought the urge to reach out and take his hand. She wanted to comfort the man that she knew so well. When in reality, she thought to herself, she didn't know him at all. Even more disturbing to her was the fact that she felt that needed to provide some sense of succor to the man.

Shepard straightened up. "It doesn't matter. Let me ask you something." He stared out the portside window, watching the pink waves of the jump fields. "What happened to my crew? I guess what I'm asking is…"

"Are you alone?" Miranda leaned forward handing him her datapad. "Of the forty-two Alliance crewmembers, thirty-one have been declared dead. Thirty-two if you count yourself. The turian, quarian, and krogan can also be counted as survivors. As well as the asari, Dr. T'Soni." When Miranda had envisioned herself having this conversation, she had expected to have the news of Liara's well-being be comforting to Shepard. However the revelation that Shepard had loved Ashley Williams and not the asari had proved to be surprising to say the least. A surprise that she was curious as to why it pleased her so.

Next it was Jacob that provided the answers for Shepard's next questions. "Their whereabouts are unknown, but we have had sightings from time to time. Urdnot Wrex was last seen in the Krogan DMZ. Garrus Vakarian returned to C-Sec for approximately six months before leaving the Citadel altogether. Tali'Zorah returned to the Migrant Fleet, it's presumed that is where she remains." Shepard took it all in. Jacob continued to read the names of the few that survived. He didn't recognize many. A surge of regret welled inside of him. He was embarrassed that he hadn't taken the time to get to know many of the crew. If he hadn't known many of the survivors, it was safe to assume that he would know even fewer of those that had perished. On name however didn't appear on the list of the dead that Miranda had given him or the names of the survivors that Jacob was reading.

"Where is Joker? Lt. Jeffrey Moreau, he isn't on either list. Did he…? Is he alive?" Jacob gave Miranda a nervous glance. "I need to know, is okay?"

"You ask a two part question Commander." Miranda took her datapad back. "Mr. Moreau lives. Whether Mr. Moreau is okay or not proves to be the topic of many discussions between he and his therapist."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Miri. Commander, Joker had a rough time with your death, survivor's guilt I guess. He blamed himself for your death. It wasn't long before the Alliance washed him out. Even Udina and the council went out of their way to see to it that he was as far away from the limelight as possible."

"Why?"

"Because those who flew with you knew the truth. You all knew the truth of the Reapers. Sometimes I wonder if the council regrets that whatever hit your ship hadn't just killed everyone on board." Shepard could hear the anger in the man's voice. Miranda echoed his sentiment.

"It was months after your death that the Council even acknowledged that you were in fact gone. Months that they had taken to do as much of a smear campaign as they could. They spread lies and rumors that you were crazy, that the claims of an impending Reaper invasion were delusional attempts to raise your position within the Spectres. It was actually quite brilliant."

"I'm glad you were such a fan."

Miranda gave a smirk and a small nod before standing. "Commander, I promise there will be plenty of time for more Q&A., for now though do try and get some rest. We are preparing to make the final jump."

Shepard watched as the woman crawled into the shuttle's cockpit. "Final jump to where?"

With a small smile that he found strangely enticing, she answered. "You did say you wanted to meet our boss, did you not?"

~o~0~o~

He'd been a family man once. An average person making average decisions, living an average life on Earth. He left for work everyday at the same time. He carpooled with the same group of coworkers. Twice a month he took his wife out to a nice restaurant. Every day of his life was the same. Each week bled into the next. There was nothing special about the man. That changed after Shanxi. The Turians had killed countless humans before the rest of the Citadel had negotiated a peace between the aliens and humans. It was during the aftermath that a certain concern began to nag at him. What was to stop the Turians or any other of the Council aliens from deciding that humanity didn't fit into the galactic community? He began to voice his concerns with his friends and the people he worked with. Most wanted to believe that the aliens were truthful in their claims for peace. Others told him that he needed to be more open to the idea of cooperation between humans and their new galactic neighbors. He understood their attitudes. The truth was that he had never been a confrontational man. He had served in the military, but that had been a long time ago and only under the promise of having his college education paid for. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that the aliens were not to be trusted. At the very least he felt humanity couldn't afford to count on the Citadel species for support. Humanity needed to be strong. It needed to show the resolve and strength to stand on its own.

The letter began as a simple entry into his personal journal, a way of preserving his thoughts to record. His family had gone for the week to join many in the witnessing of the ceremonial treaty signing. As much as he had been against going, he could not deny his family the historical significance of the event. It was while they were away, that he found himself in front of his computer. He wrote about his fears of alien occupation. He wrote of his concerns for the well being of humanity's future. It wasn't long before the letter began to consume him. He took the next couple of days away from his job to continue to outline his vision. As a curiosity, he reached out to a couple friends he still had in the military. He was pleasantly surprised to find out that many shared his opinions and concerns. It wasn't long after that the letter had been circulated through several outlets.

After another day of failing to go to work and to even sleep for that matter, he reached an epiphany. Humanity needed a powerful symbol on which to hang its future. A strong presence that had its best interests at heart. In order to achieve this it would need a leader, someone willing to sacrifice all for the greater good. He realized what he needed to do. He cleaned out an account that he kept as "rainy day" funds. He'd always had an uncanny ability to understand the global markets. He had simply never been daring enough to risk his own family's money on a whim. Within hours he had managed to turn the ten thousand credits into two million. He then created a ghost account that would slowly deposit that money into his family's account foe the next several years. After his decision had been made, he simply got into his car and made his way to the nearest space port. He had made plans through a few of his contacts to leave his life behind and start anew as the head of his new collective.

The man sat in near darkness, the only light coming from the slow deep drags of his cigarette. He was still awaiting Lawson's report. It was seven minutes past due. Any other operative and he wouldn't have given the tardiness much thought, but when it came to Miranda and Project Lazarus he was never kept waiting. The Illusive Man touched one of the panels on his chair, several screens powered up. One of the screens displayed the results of Lazarus' latest tests. It seemed as it would only be a matter of weeks before they would be ready to "activate" Shepard. He smiled to himself. When the project had first been proposed amongst the Directors, he hadn't expected it to have been this successful. The door buzzer sounded. He pressed a small button allowing the person entry. A young man entered the room.

"Sir," he looked extremely nervous. "We have received a security dispatch from Operative Lawson. The base has come under attack."

"What type of attack?"

"We don't know. Lawson was in one of the personal shuttlecraft. She was only able to send a message to one of our encrypted comm buoys. All we were able to ascertain was that during the attack she was forced to activate Project Lazarus."

"And what is the current status?"

The young man answered. "We were able to track the ship. It looks to be headed to communications substation twelve. It seems that Shepard would like to meet you."

The Illusive Man looked out at the nearby star. "Well this should get interesting now."

~o~0~o~

It wasn't long before Miranda was able to hear the deep relaxed breathing coming from the rear cabin of the shuttle. Glancing back to ensure that Shepard was in fact asleep; she reviewed the answers to the questions she had posed earlier. She rolled her eyes at the glibness of Shepard's answers regarding his family. Despite the attitude, she was pleased that his memories seemed to be in full response. She debated on when the proper time to tell him that the Shepard's want for a grandchild had ended over a year ago when Elena Shepard had married and given birth to a son. It seemed the family's black sheep was now living the stereotypical housewife lifestyle. Miranda had always been puzzled by women who sought no other fulfillment than to live as a wife and mother. The way she saw it, it was a life lived in servitude. She also thought that it would have been a terrible waste of her talents and abilities. No part of that had ever appealed to Miranda. She supposed it came from the fact that Miranda had never had a mother. A sound of shuffling brought her out of her thoughts. Jacob stood in the small doorway.

"Care if I join you?" Miranda didn't answer but motioned to the adjoining bucket seat. "Yeah Shepard's out like a light. You'd think after being asleep for two years that he could at least stay awake for a few hours while we make our way to…just where are we going?"

Miranda turned one of the monitors towards Jacob. "Cerberus station twelve. It's where the second half of our project is."

The two sat in silence for several minutes before Jacob asked. "Miranda, what happened at Akuze?" She had known that the question would be asked eventually but she'd still as of yet to find what she considered the appropriate response.

"I was there. It was one of my first assignments with Cerberus. I was simply there in a liaison role, but I witnessed the whole entire event. Let's just say that the experiment didn't go exactly as planned or at least as I was briefed that it would go. The Alliance marines never stood a chance. There was one however," Miranda took a moment and glanced back at the sleeping Shepard. "One marine that absolutely refused to die. Never mind that it wasn't my place, but all I wanted to do was stop the carnage." She became quiet. "It was me that alerted the Alliance to Shepard's survival and location. Originally The Illusive Man had determined that there would be no survivors, it took some convincing on my part to get him to allow Shepard's survival."

Jacob had a look of shock on his face. "Wow, thank God for small miracles, huh?"

Miranda smiled. Jacob had always had the ability to make her smile. Even though the relationship between the two of them had ended recently, he was still the closest thing to a friend that she had. She also felt safe in revealing to him her role in Akuze. Unlike many of the other people that they worked with, Jacob was a very moral individual who put a premium on honor and duty. She knew that anything she shared with him would never escape his lips. "Jacob, did you know Ashley Williams?"

"I knew of her." He seemed to be thinking back. "Eden Prime was one of the larger settlements, but even then it was still pretty small. I knew who she was, but I can't say if I ever had a conversation with her or not." Miranda nodded. She made a note of it to learn more about the woman. When researching Shepard's history, she'd learned everything she could about all of the women in his past. It started out as a way of finding if there were any offspring known or otherwise that she could get a DNA sample from. The search for a child had proved fruitless but in finding the women in Shepard's life, she felt as if she began to understand the man. Something that she noticed was a line of powerful women, strong personalities that saw themselves as equals to the Commander. That made Miranda laugh. While a handful of these women were 'alpha' females, Shepard was an N7 marine with an exceptionally brilliant mind. No woman would truly be able call herself his equal. Miranda thought of one woman, but quickly pushed the thought away. Once again Jacob pulled her away from her thoughts.

"Miri, why station twelve? Why not Central Control?"

Miranda smiled. "The Illusive Man may not give all that much thought to his safety, but I do. Shepard's previous experiences with our organization have all been…less than pleasant. I would much rather the first time they meet be through the communicator and not face to face."

"So you're worried about The Illusive Man's safety?" Jacob laughed. "Somehow I feel like the boss man can take care of himself."

Miranda looked at the man and then glanced back at the sleeping Shepard. With a serious voice, she answered. "The Alliance made him a perfect weapon. With my upgrades and enhancements, I made him _the _perfect weapon. And against my wishes, we are about to unleash that weapon to his own accord and just have to pray that he chooses to help us."

~o~0~o~

Shepard was met with numerous stares and murmurs as he walked through the corridors of the Cerberus space station. He had to admit that the looks from the Cerberus crew were far less hostile than he had been expecting. The truth however was that he hadn't known just what to expect. The last time he had run into any Cerberus types, there had been plenty of bullets fired. However Jacob and to a lesser extent Miranda, both seemed to hold no hostilities towards him. Miranda led him down a series of steps to a set of large doors.

"The Illusive Man is waiting for you inside."

Shepard looked at her. "Anything I should know?"

"I doubt he will have as much patience for your glibness as I have shown."

He raised an eyebrow. "If I remember right, you were actually pretty short with me." Miranda refused to display the smile she felt approaching. "Oh I see. Touché Ms. Lawson, Touché." Miranda turned and walked back up the stairs. Shepard felt a small rush of blood run to his cheeks when he realized that he had been watching her walk away. "Sorry." he muttered.

Miranda turned back around. "Sorry for what, Commander?"

"N-Nothing. " Embarrassed he turned back to the large doors. He entered a deceptively dark room. "Hello?" A small circle illuminated near the center of the floor. Cautiously he stepped onto it. Suddenly a series of scanners came from the walls. Within seconds he was standing face to face with the hologram med image of a well dressed man. "Illusive Man?" The man took a slow drag from his cigarette, before putting out the butt and rising from his chair.

"Commander Shepard, it is a pleasure to meet you. How do you feel?"

Shepard kept Miranda's warning in mind. "Let's just cut to the chase. Why am I here? The last time I ran into Cerberus, a lot of your people ended up dead. Don't tell me you brought me back just so you could kill me yourself."

The Illusive Man let out a small chuckle. "No Commander I don't plan on killing you. I find myself in an unfamiliar situation. I need your help."

Shepard looked at the man suspiciously. "What kind of help?"


	3. Chapter 3

Miranda sat pretending to read one of the many mission reports that she carried in her travel case. Jacob was sleeping soundly in the copilot's seat in the front of the shuttle. His snores barely being drowned out by the hum of the ship's engines. Shepard sat across from her working away on his new omni-tool. Every so often she would catch him look up as if to say something, only to return to his work. Finally he did speak.

"So what do you know about Freedom's Progress?"

His voice almost rang out as a shout across the silence of the small cabin. Both Miranda and Jacob jumped at the sudden outburst. Miranda looked up from her data pad, quickly cueing up the relevant information. "All intelligence says that it is a small colony on a terrestrial planet. Right now all we know is that communication was lost." She couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, her reports were full of information on the colony, yet she had been so conscious of not speaking to Shepard and pretending to read, that she hadn't actually read any of the intel.

Shepard nod as she spoke. "What makes you think that this isn't just a communication failure? I mean what makes this so special?"

"It fits with the pattern that we've come across before." Jacob joined them in the back of the shuttle. "I mean the comm blackout, the location of the colony, the size. It matches the pattern." Miranda nodded.

"Hopefully we will find something there that gives us some form of a lead into the identity of these attacks."

Shepard picked up one of her reports. "You're telling me that you don't have a single idea who or what is behind this?"

"No Commander we don't."

Shepard was surprised at the small amount of anger in the woman's voice. "Anything in the file that makes mention of anyone with a vendetta against the colony."

"You're thinking that slavers might have had something to do with this."

He looked at the woman. "Very astute Ms. Lawson. I was thinking slavers or maybe a rival colonial company."

Jacob joined in on the briefing. "Nah, Commander. They ran into some typical batarian bullshit roughly six months ago, but their security forces held firm. As far as a rival company, the Alliance has cracked down pretty hard on claim disputes since you've been gone."

Miranda nodded. "I agree with Jacob. While your theories are sound, there just isn't any evidence from the previous happenings that would suggest that this is anything that we've encountered before." She reached out, handing her data pad to Shepard.

Taking it, he asked. "What evidence was found at the other colonies?"

Miranda and Jacob shared a sorrowful glance before the man answered. "That's just it Commander, there was nothing. No signs of struggle. No alarms were ever sounded. It's just as if the people suddenly vanished. There were meals left on tables, machinery still running, there were even more than a few circumstances where sinks and showers were still running." Shepard watched Jacob give a small shudder. "All communications were jammed, VI's and security systems were knocked offline. Bustling cities instantly ghost towns."

"Croatoa." Shepard mumbled to himself.

Miranda looked up. "I'm sorry Commander?"

He smirked. "It's an old story from Earth."

With a tone of annoyance she answered. "I'm from Earth, I understand the reference." He gave her a small nod before glancing at the confused face of Jacob. He continued.

"When the Europeans were settling the continent that eventually became North America, they formed small colonies and outposts. There was one outpost that suddenly disappeared. Same thing, dinners prepared and not eaten, crops suddenly abandoned mid-harvest, kinda like this. Anyways, when their supply boats arrived several months later all they were able to find was a strange scrawling of the word 'Croatoa'."

"Did they ever find out what happened?"

Shepard gave a small chuckle. "No they didn't. It's one of those great unsolved mysteries."

Miranda turned to her colleague. "In all probability the settlers were most likely taken captive by one of the nearby native tribes."

Jacob nodded slowly before looking back at Shepard. "So you want us to keep an eye out for hostile natives?"

Shepard couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Well the Illusive Man did tell me to keep my mind open to all possibilities."

Miranda watched Shepard with a mixture of awe and annoyance. As it had been proved with the other colonies, Freedom's Progress had also been a 'ghost town' as Jacob had described it. The Commander however was taking his time investigating the most mundane items. He examined the locks on a few of the buildings. He checked the carpets in one of the homes. Right now he was checking the snowfall for any sign of footprints. All they had been able to turn up were footprints Miranda surmised belonged to the colonists. There were signs of work boots and smaller prints they all agreed belonged to children. None of the markings appeared to be hurried or panicked. She tried to push away the thoughts of the missing children. Ever since the first colonists had gone missing, the number of missing children had steadily risen. As it was now the number of children stood at over three thousand. Miranda had never been one to have a close connection with children, but she felt for those who had no way of defending themselves. She tore herself away from those thoughts and tried to refocus on Shepard. He and Jacob were leaning over near the main gate's control panel. She quickly made her way over to the men.

"We might have something." Jacob said when Miranda joined them. He pointed to the footprints in the snow. "Those aren't human." Miranda looked at the spot he pointed to. In the snow surrounding where they currently stood were footprints of a three pronged boot. Miranda saw a stern look on Shepard's face.

"These prints would suggest a dextro diet species."

Jacob, still bent down looked up at the Commander and Miranda. "You mean like Turians? What would the Turians be doing this far out of Turian controlled space?"

Miranda dusted some of the falling snow off of her shoulders. "It could be a mercenary group. But that still doesn't explain how they have been managing to kidnap so many effortlessly."

"They aren't Turian." Shepard pointed to the toes. "Turian boots tend to be pointed, aggressive, militaristic. These are rounded. See how the heel is pronounced, almost as if the individuals are used to being subservient. I know of one species that fit's the description."

Jacob asked, "Which is?"

"Quarian."

Miranda was the first to ask. "What would the Quarians be doing all the way out here?"

Shepard began to key the large bay door open. "I don't know, but let's go find out."

~o~0~o~

Tali'Zorah didn't like working with new people. She didn't appreciate not having the time to train and form some sort of unit cohesion. Due to a recent infection, she had been unable to join her usual team of marines on a scouting trip near Caleston Rift. When the emergency beacon had arrived at the fleet, Tali had recovered enough that the Admiralty Board had seen it fit to place her in command of her current team. The emergency call had come from a young quarian on pilgrimage in a human colony world. Responding to these types of beacons was nothing new to Tali'Zorah. In the two years that she had been back with the Migrant Fleet, she'd led teams on several rescue missions to assist various quarians in need. She'd learned long ago that the typical quarian pilgrimage was far from the experience that she'd had. Traveling with Shepard and the Normandy crew had been a once in a millennia. With the experience, fame, and most notably the encrypted geth data that she had returned to the fleet with, she had become one of the most recognized members of the quarian people. It wasn't long after her return that many took notice that her commission as a Major in the quarian military had been well deserved. While many initially believed her appointment to be one of a political nature, it wasn't long before Tali'Zorah had proved her worth as a strong and capable military leader. Most attributed that to the fact to her being the daughter of one of the quarian's greatest Admirals. Tali however knew that her confidence and leadership skills had come from serving under Commander Shepard for much of her time away from her people. After the Commander had perished, Tali had taken a vow to honor the man through her actions. She was always the first into a hostile situation, and always the last to retreat, a trait that the many of the marines under her charge had come to respect tremendously.

Her current team however, fell into the category of people that still believed she was undeserving of her command. Prazza, a lieutenant serving as her second in command on this mission, had balked at the idea of Tali'Zorah accompanying his team on the rescue mission, especially since she was now in charge. His protests quieted for the most part after the team had reached Freedom's Progress. The young quarian, Veetor, had been able to relay a frantic message to the fleet claiming that he was under attack and needed help. He also went on to state that there were monsters and that they were taking the humans. Many stated that Veetor was crazy, a fact supported by many that knew the young man. He had long suffered through bouts of delusions and paranoia. Troubled as the young man was, the Admiralty Board felt it best to retrieve the young quarian and call an end to his pilgrimage. Tali felt for the young quarian. In having the board call him home, he would not be allowed to serve on any ship. He would instead be returned to his birthship. If in time the Captain of Veetor's birthship saw fit, he would be allowed to take on an adult name.

Tali led her team through the buildings of the main settlement looking for the troubled quarian. She was disturbed by the fact that they had yet to find Veetor. Even more unsettling, they had yet to cross paths with anyone. It was if the whole colony had somehow vanished. When they had first reached orbit over the colony, their hails had been met with silence. A quick scan proved that the colony's communications had been disabled. After landing in an open space near the center of town, Tali had been shocked at the lack of a greeting. As they ventured further into the compound, they continued to find no one. Mila'Taao, the one marine that seemed to be unquestioning of Tali's command, turned to the officer.

"Major, I'm scanning a single quarian life form in a small security building a couple of hundred meters ahead. I believe it is Veetor." Tali nodded and motioned for the rest of the team to move out. Prazza took four men and moved forward, hugging the outer walls of the buildings. Tali stayed behind keeping Mila and another marine for cover support. Suddenly shots rang out across the empty streets.

"Prazza! What is going on?"

The second officer finally responded. "We have security mechs. They've opened fire. Huru's been hit." Tali motioned for the two marines to follow her. Making their way forward, they quickly caught up with Prazza's team. As the lieutenant had said, they were in a firefight with a large group of mechanized security drones. One of Prazza's men lay bleeding in the snow. Tali reached down, feeling the young quarian's weak pulse. Hearing a growing buzz approaching, she looked up to see several rocket drones flying near. Using all of her strength she hoisted the marine onto her shoulders.

"Everyone get inside." She punched the door mechanism on a nearby residence, opening the door. The marines quickly spilled inside the building. Prazza remained steadfast, firing his weapon into the darkness. With her patience wearing thin, Tali yelled out for the man. "Prazza, get in here. There are too many. That is an order lieutenant!" Reluctantly the man retreated into the building. Tali overrode the door controls locking them inside. Once she assumed they were safe, she set upon helping the injured. The marine that had been hit had lost a lot of blood but it looked like they had gotten him stable. Tali pulled Mila and Prazza aside.

"I don't know what is going on, but we can't stay here. It won't be long before those mechs get in here." Prazza nodded. Mila began scanning for possible escape routes

"Major, my scans say that those mechs are receiving orders from the security office. It looks like Veetor is the one issuing the commands."

"The little bosh'tet's lost his damn mind."

Tali recoiled at Prazza's statement. "He is scared. He probably saw whatever happened to the humans. We just need to get to that room and get to him before anyone else gets hurt. If we can get to Veetor, we might be able to talk him down."

"No, to hell with that. I say we get there, put a round in his kneecaps and drug the little bastard unconscious till we get back to the fleet." Tali had long grown tired of Prazza second guessing and trying to circumvent her orders. She truly began to appreciate Kal'Reegar, her usual second in command.

"Prazza if any unnecessary harm comes to Veetor, I'll see to it myself that you are left on this planet."

Prazza leaned in towards her. "You forget _Major,_" he said, seething the last word, "these are my men. They follow my orders. What's to stop me from killing you and Veetor? Then telling the board about the tragic way the mechs overwhelmed you. I'll even go as far as saying you died a hero. I'm sure someone like you will get a truly wonderful memorial service." Tali saw the rest of the marines uneasily taking positions flanking her.

"A speech like that sounds rehearsed." Tali needed to buy herself some time. _What would Shepard do? _she asked herself. The answer was clear; keep talking. "You almost sound like you've been thinking about this for sometime."

"I guess you can say I have. Just because you're Rael'Zorah's daughter and some Citadel hero doesn't make you better than me, better than us." He moved to motion to the rest of the marines in the small room. It was the opening that Tali had been looking for. In a flash of movement that caught everyone by surprise, Tali had pulled her shotgun from her back and pressed it against the glass of Prazza's helmet before it had even finished unfolding. Now it was Tali's turn to threaten Prazza.

"I want you to listen to me Prazza, because I'm only going to say this once. If you kill me, you are going to have to rely on everyone in this room keeping your secret. That's a lot to ask because eventually someone will say something. It's only natural. No one can keep that kind of thing secret for too long." She paused, allowing Prazza to look around at the other marines in the room. "Meanwhile if I pull this trigger, I can go back to the fleet and tell them of your attempted mutiny. Your name will be stripped from all records. Your family will curse your memory. And me? I'll probably get a commendation out of this ordeal. I am offering you a deal however. Would you like to hear my proposal?"

Voice shaking, Prazza answered. "Yes ma'am." Tali smiled at the man's sudden courteous attitude.

"What I propose is that you stand down, do as I order, and help recover Veetor _peacefully._ When we return to the fleet, neither of us will ever speak of this again. No one in this room will ever speak of this again, is that clear." Quickly the other marines snapped salutes in confirmation. "Now what do you think of my offer?"

Prazza slumped his shoulders. "Yes ma'am. We have an understanding."

Tali slowly lowered her weapon from the lieutenant's head. She suddenly felt aware of her late friend's influence in her. Smiling under her helmet, she returned her attention to the rest of the marines in the room. She ordered them to continue their defensive positions. Suddenly Mila gasped. "Major, a ship has just landed nearby. The registry says that it's…Cerberus."

A cold chill ran down Tali's spine.

~o~0~o~

The Commander ejected the heat sink from his shotgun. The large YMIR unit collapsed on its own wait. Jacob ran over to check on the fallen quarians. The one who had pointed the gun in Shepard's face earlier, body lay crushed an effect from one of the mech's missiles. Shepard helped Miranda to her feet. The Cerberus officer had taken a hard blow to the head when an explosion had thrown a stack of crates at her position.

"Easy now," he said helping her all the way up. He saw the small blood trickle down her forehead. Brushing her hair out of her face he grazed the small cut that ran along her hairline.

"Oww. That bloody hurts thank you."

"Baby." He laughed as he reached into his field pack. Handing her a small gauze square, he asked, "Are you going to be okay, or do I need to have Jacob escort you back to the ship?"

Miranda stood defiant. "I am fine Commander. I do not need to be babied as such." She threw the gauze pad to the ground. Shepard gave her a curious look before turning and walking toward Jacob and Tali. Feeling a small line of blood tracing its way down her face, she grumbled as she bent over and picked up the bandage.

Shepard took a spot near Tali as she tried patch one of the quarian marine's suits. Looking up at him she smirked, "This is what happens when you work with amateurs."

He laughed. "Seems like only months ago some would have considered you in that boat."

"That was years ago Commander." Shepard thought he heard a small bit of pain in the woman's voice. "If your going to get your answers from Veetor now is the time. I'll join you shortly." Shepard gave a quick nod and motioned for Jacob and Miranda to join him.

Inside the security room a young quarian sat at the controls and monitors of the colony's defenses. Franticly he switched between views, seemingly looking for some invisible menace. "Hello?" Shepard called out. The quarian continued his fruitless search mumbling to himself. Jacob began to move forward. The Commander rested a hand on the man's shoulder. "Wait." He keyed in a command into his omni-tool. Within seconds all the surveillance monitors shut off. The quarian stopped his manic behavior. He turned to the three humans in the room. Shepard held his hands up. "Are you Veetor? We're not going to hurt you. We just want to know what happened here. Where are the people?" Veetor seemed to contemplate Shepard's words before finally resigning. He returned his attention to the blank monitors. After several moments he spoke.

"The monsters came from nowhere. Our communications were jammed. Able to get message to fleet. Waiting for fleet. Fleet will save me." Shepard shared a look with Jacob. The security officer whispered.

"I think this one's cracked sir."

Shepard walked forward; deliberate to let Veetor see that he meant no harm. "What monsters Veetor? Did the monsters take the people?" The young quarian nodded. He quickly pressed in a command into the security console. The monitors came back to life. On the screens several creatures were placing humans into some sort of containing units. For their part the humans did not appear to be resisting at all.

"The monsters came with their bugs. Bugs sting everyone. Bugs ignore Veetor, but they will be back. No one escapes bugs. No one escapes monsters. Used mechs to kill monsters. Try to save everyone. Too late."

Shepard heard the gasp from Miranda behind him. "Commander, I think the 'monsters' are collectors." Shepard turned back to the screen. The Collectors were a race that no one knew that much about. Every so often they would venture through the impassable Omega 7 relay and do trade with, more often than not slavers, in exchange for weaponry or tech. What they were doing this far from the Omega relay was a mystery. Veetor seemed to lose his nerve upon seeing the replayed security footage. Jacob quickly turned the monitors off.

"I think we've gotten all we're going to from him sir."

Miranda echoed the sentiment. "Right. Grab the quarian. We can continue his debriefing back at the station. We have ways of recovering some of his…damaged memories."

"_Grab the quarian?" _Shepard turned to see that Tali had joined them in the room. "Shepard, you can't let them take Veetor. He needs help, help that only his people can give him." The Commander listened to his friend's arguments.

"What if we just took Veetor's omni-tool? The data might prove to be helpful." He saw Miranda start to protest, but he shook his head for her to stop.

"Thank you Shepard. I hope you get the answers you're looking for."

Shepard took the omni-tool from Tali. "You know that you are welcome to come with me. I could really use your help."

Tali placed her arm around Veetor. "I can't Shepard. I have a responsibility to my people. I also don't trust them." She pointed at Miranda and Jacob. "I will always trust you Commander, but them…just be careful." With that she walked out of the room. Shepard turned back to the Cerberus personnel.

"Let's get out of here"

~o~0~o~

Jeff Moreau sat at the bar trying his hardest to drown the memories that haunted his ever waking hours. The former Alliance officer discovered years ago that when drunk enough, he was able to sleep without the nightmares of having to witness his friend's death. A death that had occurred in the saving of the pilot. He had good days of course. Days in which he was behind the sticks flying. Days in which he was 'Joker' again. The Alliance had taken that away from him. Udina and the council had cast him out in the cold for knowing the truth. Admiral Anderson had tried to do what he could to see that Joker remained at the helm in an Alliance warship, but after he had attacked Kaidan Alenko in a drunken rage, he was out for good. Jeff thought he was justified in punching Alenko. The lieutenant seemed unwilling to dispute the Alliance and Council's claims that Shepard's encounters with the Reapers were unsubstantiated. They painted the Commander as some lunatic trying to scare the populace in order to raise his profile. Jeff wasn't willing to accept that. The fact that Alenko was had set the pilot off. It was three months after the death of Shepard that Joker found himself in a bar on the Citadel. He was drunk and instead of calling C-Sec, the bar owner had gotten a hold of his superior officer. Jeff couldn't remember what was said, only that he had gotten angry enough to smash the bottle across Kaidan's face. He hit the lieutenant hard enough that the fragile bones in his hands had been broken on impact. He fought through the pain and kept hitting Alenko until C-Sec had shown up and separated the two men. After a mockery of a court-martial, he was unceremoniously discharged from the Alliance Navy. It was after walking out of the hearing on Arcturis station that Miranda Lawson had found him. He quickly found out that she represented the Cerberus organization, a group that Shepard had come across before. It wasn't how he wanted to honor his friend, but the group offered him something that no one else was willing to. They were going to let him fly again.

While with Cerberus he got to fly, he missed being at the helm of a 'special' ship, a ship with a true mission. He'd had that on the Normandy. It seemed that the fate of the entire galaxy rested in his hands. The assignments thus far with Cerberus offered no such drama. A cute woman approached him. After looking the red head over, he noticed the Cerberus logo on a small pin she wore. He motioned to the seat next to him.

"Lieutenant Moreau I presume?"

"See and hear I am thinking that what I really need is a woman to come into this bar, sit next to me, and already know who I am. KInda saves me the trouble of having to tell you a long story only for it to end in complete failure for one of us and embarrassment for us both."

The woman took his comment in stride. "So am I to take it that you are in fact Lieutenant Jeffrey Moreau?"

He bristled slightly. "Lieutenant implies that I have some sort of rank in a military institution." He took a drink from his beer. "Just call me Mr. Moreau, or Jeff, whatever."

"Yes well since you asked and everything," Jeff rolled his eyes at her statement, "I'm Kelly, Kelly Chambers."

"What is it that you want Kelly Kelly Chambers?"

The woman looked at him curiously. "I was told you preferred to be called Joker."

He slammed his beer on the bar. A few of the other patrons briefly glanced at the two. "Nobody calls me Joker, not anymore."

"Very well, Jeff. I have a new assignment for you. It comes from the Illusive man himself."

Suspiciously he asked, "What does ol' blue eyes have in mind?"

Kelly reached into her case and pulled out a small data pad. She keyed in a series of numbers unlocking information meant for him. "We've developed a new space craft. You may recognize some of the specs." His eyes widened. He did recognize it. According to the blueprints, the ship looked like the Normandy's big brother.

"Where…how did you get these? The Normandy's design was top secret."

The woman gave a small smile. "You should know that we've gotten pretty good at getting things that we want. After all you're here aren't you."

Joker flipped through the next several pages examining all that he could about his new vessel. Suddenly he stopped. "This is a ship built for a fight. I'm not part of your '_humanity is great, aliens suck' _campaign. It's the deal TIM and I made long ago."

Kelly's smile didn't diminish. "He said you might react this way. The Illusive Man simply asks that you meet the ship's commanding officer. If then you still don't wish to captain the ship, you are free to resume your current duties."

Again Joker suspiciously looked at the woman. "Who is the commanding officer?"

Chambers stood and packed up her belongings. She swiped her credit chit paying for his tab. You are to report to Cerberus substation twelve in twenty four hours. There you will report to Commander John Vincent Shepard."

Joker sat stunned. "Shepard. But that's imposs…How?"

"Just be there Jeff."

He glanced once again at the data pad before answering. "Joker. My name is Joker."


	4. Chapter 4

Miranda hated Omega. She hated the smell. She hated the neon lights. She hated the catcalls from the alleyways. She hated the people that called Omega home. On the ever growing list of reasons to hate the blasted former mining station, it was the sense of hopelessness that Miranda hated the most. It was the lack of hope seemed to ooze from every pore of the residents of the God forsaken rock. The steam permeating from the gutters and vents constantly reminded her of the despair and longing that weighed heavily on the minds and souls of all Omega's inhabitants. She'd been forced to do business on the station a number of times, each ending with her vow to never return. A vow she would abide by until the Illusive Man would ask her to meet someone, pick something up, or on the rare occasion, kill someone. Inevitably she would return, carry out her employer's task, and then leave again, smelling of sulfur and urine and renewing her vow. Of Omega's many transgressions against Ms. Lawson, the one that was quickly rising up the ranks was that of Aria T'Loak. The Asari had always proven herself to be a right pain-in-the-arse. This time was proving to be no different.

The Normandy's arrival on Omega hadn't gone unnoticed. Miranda and Shepard had barely departed the ship when they had been approached by one of T'Loak's goons. The man had demanded that Shepard report to the Asari. Originally the Commander had protested, but agreed to the meeting after reasoning that there was no other way to locate the men they were seeking. Their search for the Salarian doctor Mordin Solus and the evasive vigilante Archangel. Solus was said to have been capable of developing a way of combating the Collectors and their drone swarms. Miranda had been surprised when the Illusive Man had given her the dossier. The Illusive Man hardly ventured past the human race, but the current situation warranted that all avenues needed to be taken. From her own research, Miranda found that Solus was said to have an uncanny intellect. Many reports however stated that his brilliance was counterbalanced by his erratic behavior. When she had mentioned this to Shepard, he'd simply laughed and stated that for this mission, one needed to be a little off kilter. There was very little relevant information on the Archangel of Omega. In truth, the man seemed to be little else than a hired gun. Miranda figured there was probably plenty of room for those as well on the Normandy. But finding the two men was going to be impossible without the cooperation of 'The Pirate Queen' of Omega.

~o~0~o~

Dr. Solus paused ever so slightly when the vents came roaring back to life. Anyone that had been paying attention would have missed the momentary hesitation. His attention, the majority of his attention, returned to the screen displaying his latest findings. The disease that he'd been able to cure, was attacking nonhuman life. Mordin wasn't troubled by the complexity of the virus, it hadn't proved to be very difficult to cure. He was intrigued by the unique signature of the creator. The virus had after all, been created artificially. It had been altered and shaped to only attack those who carried different physiologies than that of the human race. It hadn't proved to be overly harmful to Asari physiologies as well, but due to the lack of a large Asari population on the lower reaches of Omega station, Mordin hypothesized that the virus was meant to isolate and alienate the human populace. David, his young assistant that he had originally assigned to dispense the cure, returned to the lab.

"Professor! The air scrubbers! They're back online."

Mordin nodded and quickly waved off the young man's exuberance. "Yes, Yes. It seems Shepard's reputation is well deserved. David, it appears that my presence will no longer be required on Omega." He saw the look of confusion on the man's face. "Cure is dispensed. People will get well soon. You should be more than capable of caring for the rest."

David began to argue but stopped when the men and woman who had talked a group of Batarians out of killing him earlier, suddenly walked into the room. He had to purposely keep himself from staring at the woman. She was a beautiful and striking figure. He instead stared at the floor. Mordin instead over to greet the one he'd heard the Professor refer to as 'Shepard'.

Shepard met Professor's gaze. "We've done our part of the deal Professor. Can I trust you to do the same?"

The Salarian gave a slight bow. "I will honor our arrangement. Would be nice to be part of a worthy assignment again."

The muscular man spoke up. "Thank you Professor. Just head to our ship. We'll let them know you are on the way."

Mordin looked at Shepard with an inquisitive look. "I take it you have another wretched soul that you seek."

The Commander gave a small laugh. "Yes we are looking for a man called Archangel."

Now it was the Salarian doctor who laughed. "Ah yes, Archangel. Omega's white knight, our ever vigilant vigilante."

"You know of him?"

Mordin had started to pack the things he felt important; David was the one to answer. "Some mercs came to the clinic a few days ago. They were looking for people healthy enough to help go after Archangel. They had some kind of plan to attack his home base."

The muscular black man asked, "Why are they going after him?"

Mordin looked up from his packing. "Because he has killed enough of them. Believe man has a complex. Feels responsible for the weak. Exerts violence to end violence. Brutal, yet effective."

Shepard nodded before turning to David. "Just where is Archangel's 'home base'?"

~o~0~o~

He'd gone by a different name once. In another life, he'd been a different person altogether. He had been a lieutenant in the military. Once he had been an investigator for the Citadel's security force. He'd grown up believing in good versus evil, that good would always prevail. He believed the evil would be punished in accordance to laws, laws meant to protect the weak and helpless. All of that however, had been a long time ago. Over time he came to learn that the laws didn't protect the weak. More often than not, the laws kept those who had sworn by them from doing the necessary things to ensure that the small were protected. The human had shown him that it was possible to work outside of the law and still walk the high road. Shepard had changed him. Shepard had saved him. But then, without warning, Shepard was dead. The human that had taught him so much, taught him how to be more than one man, was gone. He tried to go back to his old life. He tried to sit at his desk. He tried to investigate crimes against the defenseless. He tried to be the hero that the galaxy expected him to be. But he wasn't strong enough. He wasn't strong enough to watch as the victims began to pile up and the perpetrators walked away unpunished. Finally he'd snapped. It had taken a missing child to show him just how broken the system was.

After the destruction of Sovereign, there were countless broken families and orphans of all races. In all of the confusion a sick and perverse element had grown rampant in the ruins of the wards. Slave trafficking had boomed in the lower wards, areas that were difficult to police by the now undermanned officers of C-Sec. While the practice was publicly admonished, there were many in the Citadel's hierarchy that accepted it as an evil that they couldn't do anything about. He refused to accept that stance. Despite the objections from his superiors, he worked every missing person case that came across his desk. More often than not, it would lead to an unclaimed body in the ever expanding list of those felled in the Battle of the Citadel. It was a case of a missing Drell child that had awakened the beast inside of Garrus Vakarian. Garrus stalked those he knew to be responsible for the abduction of the child. In his investigation, he went through extreme lengths to find the child, lengths that drew open criticism from his superiors. They called him out for his unwillingness to follow the letter of the law. The called him out for the brutality of his methods of gaining information. Most of all, Garrus believed they called him out for his ability to get results. Garrus had rescued the child but in doing so had ruined any chance of bringing the responsible parties to prosecution. The recovery of the child had been the last act of Garrus Vakarian. The subsequent assassination of those responsible had been the first in the persona he'd resigned himself to now. In doling out the justice he saw appropriate, he ceased to be the man who believed in law and order. He now realized that the best way to destroy evil was to unleash a different kind of evil. He would do whatever necessary to ensure that those who needed his help would get it. He had become the Archangel.

It had been an accident that Garrus had arrived on Omega. A rupture in one of the exhaust coils, had caused the ship that he had taken passage on, to take port on Omega until it could be repaired. Garrus had been on his way to Palaven, the Turian home world. He sought time away from the Citadel and its broken system of order. He'd been on the station a mere hour before he took notice of the oppression of its weaker citizens. Omega was lawless. Omega had no sense of wrong and right. Omega needed someone to punish the wicked. Omega was Garrus Vakarian's new home. It didn't take long for Garrus to find people who aided him in his cause. Ex-soldiers, former cops, even a Batarian demolitions expert quickly joined him. He had found himself in a position that was foreign to him. The men looked to him to lead. They wanted him to lead. He wanted to lead. He wanted to show the people of Omega, that they needn't fear the gangs and thugs that 'ran' Omega. He formed an uneasy alliance with Aria, an Asari that many decreed to be 'Queen of Omega'. Garrus had accepted that there were some vices that couldn't be avoided. As long as Aria steered out of his work, Garrus would stay out of hers. The other dominant mercenary gangs on Omega however, were open to whatever wrath Garrus and his men were willing to unleash. The Blue Suns ran extortion rackets on people that couldn't afford the 'protection'. The Eclipse were dealing illegal drugs, pushing red sand on young helpless and often destitute victims. The Blood Pack was the most despicable of the prevalent mercenary gangs. The Blood Pack dealt in sex slavery, drugs, and murder for hire. It was this triumvirate that Garrus waged his war on.

Garrus and his team were brutally effective. They sabotaged drug shipments, liberated people taken against their will, and killed the violators without hesitation. Garrus' nights often were spent away from his team, often going solo eliminating some of the more high profile members of the merc groups. It was one night that Sidonis, a former Turian sergeant, asked Garrus for help with a job. Garrus arrived at the location Sidonis had asked to meet up. We waited for the man for close to an hour before the dread sunk in. Scrambling back to the apartment that his team had set up as a command center, he was met with his biggest fear. His team lay slaughtered, killed by those that they had spent so much time hunting. Noticeably missing from the carnage, was the body of Sidonis. The Turian had sold the team out, and Garrus had just walked right in on the trap. Shots were fired from the bridge outside. Garrus was forced to take cover behind the wall. The mercs that lay waiting had made one terrible flaw. They'd underestimated Garrus' skill and resolve. In just minutes, the veteran marksman was able to eliminate the two dozen or so hostiles. With the scope of his rifle, he scanned the fallen bodies of the dead. Blood Pack, Eclipse, Blue Suns, and even common thugs lay dead. Somehow the gangs had united and were hell bent on taking the Archangel down. He knew the rest would be coming soon. He knew that his own death was coming with them. Garrus made his preparations. If he were destined to die in this place, he was going to take as many with him as he could.

~o~0~o~

The assault on Archangel's lair had begun by the time Shepard and his team arrived. The Commander took quick stock of the situation. He was able to identify three different bands of mercenaries. There was another group that took cover behind the large barrier wall. By the looks of terror and doubt on the faces, Shepard assumed that these were some of the 'volunteers' that David had spoken of. He turned back to Miranda and Jacob.

"Ok we need to get over to Archangel. Somehow convince him that we're on his side and somehow not get ourselves ki…"

Miranda felt her heart leap from her chest. Shepard had taken a round to his chest and now lay in a heap on the ground. She tried to run to him but felt Jacob grab her by the waist. He threw her behind a downed cab. "Miranda, don't. He's gone." She tried to argue with him. He was down out in the open. Despite all of her reasoning she wanted to get to Shepard's body, she'd managed to bring him back once she could do it again. She felt the anger and pain welling up inside of her. She pushed off of Jacob and ran to Shepard's dead body. She needed to see the wound. Perhaps it wasn't too late. Using all of her strength, she rolled the Commander onto his back. What she found stunned the woman.

Shepard was laughing. "Well I wouldn't recommend that to everyone." He saw the anger in confusion in Miranda's eyes. He explained. "Concussion rounds. All the effects of a kills hot, without the you know…kill." Miranda shook her head and pulled Shepard to his feet. They quickly retreated to the cab. He pulled his shotgun from his waist. "Now as I was saying, let's get over there and get our man."

Shepard's team was able to join in with the freelancers without anyone raising any alarms. The plan was to use the inexperienced and skittish men as cover to make their way across the bridge. Once there they would neutralize the remaining men and take up defense of the apartment with Archangel. That plan had quickly fallen to the wayside after the vigilante had thinned out most of the attackers. Shepard made his moves as deliberate as possible in eliminating several of the men on his own. His gamble seemed to work as the gunshots from the perched ledge ceased momentarily allowing his team entry into the building. Cautiously Shepard led his team up the staircase. He could hear the gunshots resume behind a large set of doors. He rapped on the door softly. Miranda rolled her eyes and pushed the latch allowing the doors lock to release.

The room was dark, the only light coming from a nearby street lamp. Every few seconds the room would become illuminated from the muzzle blasts of the lone gunman's rifle. Across the room a Turian perched on a balcony overlooking the walkway. Shepard walked forward. "Ermm…Mr. Archangel?" The man put a hand up signaling that the Commander wait. Shepard looked at Jacob. "I guess he needs a moment." The man laughed. A second later a shot rang through the small room. Archangel stood and approached Shepard and his team. Slowly a synthesized voice asked.

"Just who are you people and why the hell shouldn't I just kill you now?"

Jacob answered the man. "We represent Cerberus. We need your help."

The helmeted Turian stepped into the small amount of light, seemingly to wrestle with the human's words before finally offering his answer. "I don't work for people who make their living in exploitation."

"Just who exactly are _we_ exploiting?" Miranda asked accusingly.

"I've seen your work first hand. The thorian, the rachni. Should we ask Admiral Kahoku's family for their thoughts about you people."

The Turian's words struck a deep chord with Shepard. "The thorian…the rach… That's impossible. Just who are you?" Archangel swung his attention to the Commander.

"I'm someone who knows the truth. Who are you supposed to be?"

Shepard joined the man in the band of light created from the lamp outside. "I'm John Shepard. I used to be a Spectre."

"You _used_ to be dead." Slowly the man removed his helmet. Shepard felt a smile cross his face when he saw the face of his old friend.

"Garrus, how the hell did you get yourself stuck in a shit hole like this."

The Turian laughed. "This is my home you're calling a shit hole. How about you tell me what you're doing alive. I watched you die my friend."

The Commander offered a shrug. "It's a long story. Lot's of science involved, You'd probably be bored. Hey, you shot me you son of a bitch."

Garrus still laughing, proclaimed. "Come on, that could barely be called a kill shot."

"It still hurt."

"I'm sorry to interrupt Commander," Miranda called out from the window's ledge. "But perhaps we can continue this reunion after we've dealt with the men that are currently trying to cross the walkway." Garrus and Shepard ran over to join the woman.

Garrus smiled at Shepard. "Just like old times huh Shepard?"

"Let's hope not. I didn't end well for me."

~o~0~o~

_The gunship hovered just outside the ripped away wall, its guns trained on Miranda. Shepard, pinned down by gunmen on the stairwell, was too far away to help the woman. Garrus lunged from his cover, knocking Miranda down and shielding her from the erupting gunfire. Within seconds, his kinetic shielding had failed leaving his body opens to a barrage of bullets. Shepard called out for his friend, only to be met with silence. Furiously he and Jacob unloading on the remaining men on the stairs. Miranda had regained her footing and turned her attention to the gunship. Gathering all of her strength, she was able to biotical grab the offending ship's engine and separated it from the chassis. Seconds after the ship fell from the air, they heard the explosion come from the chasm below. Shepard ran over to his friend. Garrus was bleeding. Life was slipping away fast. Miranda came up from behind him. _

"_Commander, he's fading fast."_

_He felt the hand on his shoulder._

"_Shepard"_

Shepard was jolted out of his sleep. He found himself in the infirmary. Slowly it came flooding back to him. Garrus had been hit by the Blue Sun's gunship. He and Jacob carried the injured Turian all the way back to the Normandy. Dr. Chakwas was able to do all she could to stabilize the man but even after hours of surgery, all that they could do now was pray. Shepard had fallen asleep at his friend's bedside. Shepard still felt the hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that Joker stood beside him.

"What time is it?"

"Almost 0 three hundred hours. How is he?" the pilot asked.

Yawning, Shepard sat up in the chair. "I don't know. Eleanor says that she's done all she can do. She and Mordin worked on him for hours." He looked over at his sleeping friend. "All we can do now is pray." He glanced back at Joker who now stood at the foot of Garrus' bed. The pilot was reading the medical chart. "Do you have any idea what you're looking at?"

"No idea." Shepard chuckled as Joker began to rummage through some of the doctor's cabinets. "Ah here it is." Joker returned to the bedside, brandy bottle in hand. Pouring a glass for each of them he quipped, "Where prayer ends, drinking begins." The two men sat drinking in silence for almost half an hour. Finally the silence was ended by the sound of the infirmary's doors sliding open. Miranda entered the room. Shepard couldn't help but notice that even her sleepwear bore the Cerberus logo.

"Commander, Mr. Moreau."

Shepard took the last drink of the brandy before handing the empty bottle back to Joker. "Jesus, doesn't anyone sleep anymore?"

Joker, throwing the empty liquor bottle away answered. "I can't sleep in my room. There's an evil monkey that lives in my closet." Miranda looked at him curiously. "Why doesn't anyone ever believe me when I tell them that." The pilot pat the Turian on the shoulder, before resigning himself for the night. Shepard motioned Miranda to the open chair. Taking the seat, she picked up Garrus' chart.

"I take it you understand what that says."

Miranda looked appalled. "I brought you back from the dead and you're going to question my medical expertise." When Shepard laughed she hit him with the chart. Immediately she saw him wince in pain. "Commander, has anyone looked at your chest yet?"

With the effects of the brandy swimming around his head, he answered. "Well now that I think about it, I guess it's been over two years." The Cerberus operative showed no sign of amusement. Reluctantly Shepard removed his shirt, revealing the dark bruising across his upper ribcage. Garrus' concussion blast really had hurt, he hadn't lied about that. Miranda reached into one of the drawers and pulled out bandage wrap. She motioned for him to stand up. Slowly she began to wrap up his ribcage. With Shepard standing shirtless before her, she once again stared at his tattoo.

"Commander, your tattoo, what does it mean?" He motioned to Garrus. Miranda pulled the sheet down slightly. She noticed the same markings on the Turian's arm.

"It's Turian. When the soldiers go through a difficult campaign, they form bonds. Some of those bonds go beyond simple comrades in arms. You become brothers. Garrus and I went through it all together." Miranda noticed the sincerity in Shepard's voice. "It represents great struggle, great victory, and heartbreaking loss."

Miranda paused before pinning the bandage. "I'm sorry for the loss of Ashley Williams. I'm sure she must have meant a lot to you."

Shepard nodded. "She did. But she was a believer, so I'm sure she's found peace somewhere." He wanted to change the subject. "What about you? Any tattoos or piercing?"

Miranda handed the shirt back to the Commander. "No I have to say that my body is flawless."

"I'll say." Shepard immediately felt the blood rush to his cheeks. "What I mean- I hum…" He tried to find the words. "I just meant you don't seem like a tattoo kind of girl."

She smiled at him sweetly. "I understand Commander. Now if you will excuse me, I'm headed to bed. I'd suggest you try to do the same." Shepard watched as she walked out of the infirmary.

Standing alone in the middle of the room, he tried to evaluate his conversation with his first officer. "That could have gone better." He heard the graveled voice of his Turian brother from behind.

"_I'll say."_


	5. Chapter 5

_-SIGNING ON-_

_- JEFFREY MOREAU "JOKER"-_

_-PERSONAL LOG-_

_-ENTRY 12-_

Okay, so Shepard's probably my best friend. He's someone I owe my life to. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for him. I'd follow him into Hades itself. That said; he seems hell bent on filling this boat with as much CRAZY as he possibly can. Okay I'm glad to see Garrus. Even if he is going to brood and seethe all over the ship. It's not like I've seen a lot of him though. He seems damned intent on spending most of his free time locked up inside the batteries. I will admit; he has made some pretty awesome improvements to our cannons. If we have to get into a firefight…scratch that, _when_ we get into a firefight, we should be able to punch a goddamn hole through anyone.

It's hard to tell but I think that Mordin might be a little crazy too. The salarian likes to walk the ship and make periodic comments that make everyone a little nervous. The other day he asked me if I would be willing, upon my death, to let him perform the autopsy. He wished to learn more about Vrolic's Syndrome. Just how the hell am I supposed to take that? The next day he walks into the mess hall, takes a seat, and casually mentions to Helena that he has developed a cure for cancer. The goddamn guy cures cancer and he acts like it's no big deal.

But I digress. As much as Garrus and Mordin have going for them in the brooding and quirkiness department, neither holds a candle to our newest 'recruit'. You know those girls that you date and then after things go south you tell all your friends that she's crazy? Yeah I'd rather have every ex-girlfriend I've ever had on board, than the current psychopath that's currently bunking down below the engineering deck. I mean seriously, Jack, as she calls herself, is certifiable batshit crazy. It's true; Kelly showed me the actual certificate that says she's insane. But does any of this deter our fearless leader? Of course not. He just goes about his business collecting people that make Saren look like a guy with a few wacky ideas. For crying out loud. We just picked up this chick from a prison ship, where they had her in cryo sleep for god sakes. Oh, and to top it off, she's some kind of super biotic. At least she's down in engineering and as far away as possible from me. Hopefully Gabby can keep Ken in check. That's all we need. Some crazy biotic to lose her mind and kill our engineer after he inevitably tries to make a pass at her. For what it's worth, she's really kinda hot.

I guess I shouldn't be too worked up about it. Apparently she and Shepard worked out some deal. Garrus told me it got Miranda riled up pretty good. Something about 'Overstepping his bounds' and 'blah, blah blah, Illusive Man' with just a sprinkle of ' yack, yack, yack, Cerberus Protocols'. I've known Shepard about as long as anyone. If there is one thing that I know about my friend, it's that he isn't exactly a 'Protocol' kind of cat. He ordered her to give Jack full access to all Cerberus files pertaining to her. Don't know what she has against Cerberus, but for that matter, maybe it's better if I just stay out of it. It has also just occurred to me that Miranda probably has full access to all of our personnel journals; if that's the case, I just want you to know that I'm completely on your side Ms. Lawson. And I like what you are doing with your hair.

Speaking of things I should stay out of, Shepard gave me new orders. Seems like we're headed to the Citadel. Apparently the Commander wants an audience with the Council. I tried to tell him it was a colossal waste of time. Miranda even tried to talk him out of it as well, but the guy is stubborn. He had me send a secure message to Anderson. I say secure, but with the Illusive Man and Miranda, I'm not exactly sure just how 'secure' any of our missives truly are. To tell the truth I'm not even sure how much access HAL has into the communication systems on this ship. I guess I should take the HAL reference back. While I may not agree with it, EDI has done nothing to suggest that she is going to turn on us and enslave all organic life aboard the ship.

Getting back to Anderson, I'm not sure how much he can do for us. Udina's the one sitting on the council, and no way does he give Shepard any scrap of help. I have a sneaking suspicion that Shepard knows this. Maybe he just wants to let his old friend know that he's alive. I guess I should do the same. Anderson stuck his neck out for me when things weren't going so well, I at least need to let him know that I'm doing alright.

I will say this however, if we happen to run into that son of a bitch Kaiden, I'm taking another swing at him.

Asshole

_-SIGNING OFF-_

~o~0~o~

Miranda lay in her bed staring at the ceiling above. The incessant ticking of the nearby clock had proven to be truly bothersome. She wished that she'd had the ability to shut the blasted thing off, but due to its age, that was out of the question. She turned her gaze to the offending timepiece. It had originally been crafted for the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Miranda had acquired it as a gift from her father. She highly doubted that the man had personally chosen the clock for her, more likely it had been purchased by one of his many secretaries. Whomever had made the selection she was grateful. To her the clock had an aura of elegance and power, two things that the woman prided herself in. After staring at the clock for another several minutes, she deduced that it wasn't the antique timepiece that was keeping her awake, it was Commander Shepard.

In the last several days, Shepard had constantly ignored her counsel and advice. He'd simply handed the quarian Veetor over to the Migrant Fleet without so much as a guarantee that they would receive the information that they'd sought out. Much to her surprise, the Quarians did share the young man's omni-tool data with the Normandy. Currently they were in route to the Citadel. The Commander had chosen to make a plea to the council for assistance; assistance that Miranda had done everything in her capacity to assure him would not come. Still none of this even registered on the radar of concern or irritation as much as their newest 'hard case'. The Commander had given Jack access to all Cerberus files that dealt with her. When it happened, she'd become livid. Shepard had no authority to release that information. He had gone to extreme lengths to separate himself from the workings of the Cerberus organization. Now it seemed that he was more than willing to open up the vault for this woman. Miranda had objected, much to the pleasure of Jack. After the initial meeting, she'd appealed to the Illusive Man. After a moment, she was stunned to find that he agreed to the Commander's request. Begrudgingly, she located and unlocked all files that made any reference to Jack.

Miranda was bothered by the woman, but more so it bothered her that Shepard was spending so much time with the convict. She'd never been jealous of another woman, and she knew she wasn't jealous of Jack, but it bothered her that the Commander was more than willing to bend over backwards to accommodate a woman that she felt was undeserving of even being aboard this ship. Jack was a powerful biotic to be sure, but she was unstable and dangerous. Miranda didn't like the idea that they might have to depend on the woman sometime in the near future.

What is the deal with her not wearing a shirt? And the tattoos? Did Shepard feel some sort of connection to the woman? She's BALD for crying out loud! All they did was talk. What were they talking about? Why was HE spending so much time with HER?

Miranda rolled over and screamed into her pillow. Somehow, it made her feel slightly better. Why was she so hung up on Shepard? He didn't belong to her. There had been a couple of moments in which there had been awkwardness between the two, but she couldn't claim Shepard as her own. As of late, the two had battled over the smallest of details. Along with their disagreements about his command style, the two had clashed over his refusal to be seen by the ship's counselor. Kelly Chambers remained in her role as his assistant, yet she'd reported to Miranda that the Commander had yet to divulge anything of a personal nature to her. Despite their differences, it concerned her that he hadn't even made any notes in his personal log. What was he hiding? And is that what he and Jack talked about?

~o~0~o~

"So you'll do nothing?" Shepard slammed his fist down on the table. The reaction caused the Asari counselor to jump slightly. Even Anderson, the lifetime soldier, couldn't hold back a small flinch. "People are going missing. I can't do this without the help of the council."

The Asari councilor quickly regained her composure. "Commander, you have aligned yourself with a recognized enemy of the Council and the Citadel." She gave a brief glance at Miranda. Shepard heard the woman huff. "Even then, our own investigation has turned up no proof of any foul play."

"No foul Play?" Garrus growled at the Councilor. "Entire human colonies are going missing. Just how long do you think it will be, before the Reapers start grabbing Asari, Salarians, and Turians?"

The Turian councilor gave a curt laugh. "Ah yes, the Reapers. So would it be safe to assume that Shepard's delusions have been passed to you Vakarian?"

Shepard had had enough. "Councilor, the Reapers are real. The vessel that nearly destroyed the Citadel fleet along with yourselves was simply the Vanguard of their arrival. It won't be long before they arrive. Don't be surprised if I'm not willing to sacrifice any more lives to save your hides." He saw the Turian shift uncomfortably. "If your not willing to help, then I ask that you stay out of my way."

The Salarian councilor gave a small boy. "Perhaps I have a compromise that we may all be in agreement. If you stay in the Terminus Systems, you may continue your investigation with full Spectral status." The other two councilors seemed to briefly consider it before giving small nods in support. Shepard gave a brief glimpse to Admiral Anderson.

"Take the deal son. It's the best your going to get from this lot." Shepard finally gave a nod himself.

The Asari councilor breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, than that is settled. Good Luck Commander. I hope your investigation proves fruitful and that it will allow you a quick end to the Alliance with," she paused, "unsavory characters." The connection was cut and the holos of the council faded away. Miranda refrained from duplicating the hand gesture that she had seen Jack had repeated a number of occasions in the past week. She started to speak, but was quickly cut off by Shepard.

"Don't. Say. A. Word." Shepard leaned against the large desk. "AAhhrrghhh!" Shepard yelled as he threw a small glass placard against the adjacent wall. Seeing the look of surprise in Anderson's face he quickly apologized.

The Admiral laughed. "Don't be. This is Udina's desk." Despite his frustrations, Shepard broke into a laugh as well. Anderson quickly shifted back into a more serious tone. "In all seriousness kid, you're not going to have to worry about the council getting involved in your business. Frankly I don't exactly think that they like it that you're still alive."

Miranda spoke up, her question aimed at the Admiral. "What did they mean by they're own investigation?"

The Admiral took the seat behind Udina's desk. "There is no investigation. They've been piggybacking on my own inquiries." He met Shepard's questioning glance. "We had some intel saying that Cerberus was behind the abductions. So I sent one of my guys to find out what was going on. He hasn't found anything; hence the Council doesn't believe that this is a real threat."

Garrus spoke up. "What do you believe Admiral?"

"Like you said, people are going missing. The way I see it, if you boys want to go find out who's doing it and punch'em in the mouth, I'm behind you."

"Thank you sir."

The Admiral took Shepard's hand. "Keep your head down soldier. If I get anything that I think might help, I'll send it your way." Shepard's team had turned to walk out of the room when the doors opened revealing the Human councilor. Udina was preoccupied with young aide to notice the Spectre standing in his path. The councilor walked right into the Commander.

"Pard-Shepard? How the…What the hell are you doing here? Anderson, What is Going on?" Shepard gave Udina a small smirk.

"Didn't you hear, I'm back."

The councilor began to stammer. "W-W-What do you mean back?"

"The council just reinstated me, full Spectre status and everything."

Udina's face flushed red. "They did no such thing. I am part of the council and I was not informed."

Miranda flashed a smile at Shepard. "I guess that they thought they would save you the trouble."

Udina shook his head in disbelief. "But, I'm part of…I should have been…"

"Okay, well I guess we'll be leaving so you can figure all this out." Shepard motioned for his team to follow.

After he watched the Commander leave form his office, Udina took his seat behind his desk. Anderson took time to inform the councilor of the preceding meeting. After taking it all in Udina asked the Admiral, "Where is my Terra Service Award?"

~o~0~o~

Shepard eyed the life pod with a playful curiosity. The pod contained what Okeer called the 'perfect Krogan'. Of course Okeer was dead now, and therefore unable to elaborate further. After the events on Korlus, the Commander was left with no choice than to take the pod aboard the Normandy. Shepard placed his hand on the pod's glass cover. He heard the two women in the room hold their collective breaths.

"It's cold."

Both women let out their held breaths. "Damn Shepard. You could at least give us some warning before you go touching that thing." The convict Jack made her way to Shepard's side. "So what's the plan? We gonna crack this egg or what?"

"That's preposterous." Miranda joined the others in front of the tank. "This Krogan was created by a madman. We have no idea just what will happen if we wake it up."

"See that's your problem Cheerleader. You're no fun. No wonder Shepard's been spending all of his free time near my bunk." Miranda did her best not to show the anger that was coursing through her at that moment. The Commander, for his part, remained fixated on the pod.

"At any rate, Commander. I believe it to be folly to unleash this beast aboard the Normandy until we are more prepared."

Shepard turned to face his first officer. " More prepared for what? The way I see it, we need all the help we can get. A 'perfect Krogan', sounds like the kind of help we need."

"Commander, I ask that you truly weigh all options before you allow a possible enemy combatant loose aboard the ship."

Shepard listened to the woman's reasoning, but it was for naught. He had made up his mind before the Krogan had even been brought aboard the Normandy. "Thank you Ms. Lawson, now if you two ladies will be kind enough to wait for me outside the doors, I'm going to crack this big guy open."

"Fuck that. This I gotta see."

The Commander turned to the convict. "Not going to happen Jack. If Miranda is right and 'Tons-O-Fun' here comes out in a bad mood, I'm not going to have you unleashing some super biotic wave and punching a whole in the side of my ship." Jack opened her mouth to offer a rebuttal, but quickly resigned herself to Shepard's point. Turning away, she made her way to the outside of the doors. Miranda lingered for a brief moment.

"Commander, I'd like it put on record that I was against this."

"What record?" Shepard eyed his first officer. "Shit Miranda. Either this works and I was right, or I unleash a crazed Krogan that kills me therefore sparing me the 'I told you so' speech."

Lawson began to accompany Jack before turning with a grin. "I brought you back once Shepard. For the chance to tell you 'I told you so', I will very well do it again." Walking out of the room, she added, "Do try and be careful." Miranda was slightly put off by the look on the awaiting convict's face. While she doubted seriously that Jack had any sense of tact, the grin that was plastered on the woman gave no disillusion of the direction of the inevitable conversation.

"Damn Cheerleader, you might as well just dropped to your knees right there."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "I'm not having this conversation Jack."

"Oh come off it. Admit it, when you were putting him back together, you must have imagined what it would feel like to climb on top and give it a test drive." When Miranda didn't immediately answer, Jack continued. "Holy hell, you did. And here I was not giving you enough credit. I gotta tell you, for a stuck up Cerberus bitch, you do fine work. Damn fine work."

Jack continued speaking, but Miranda had long lost her interest and patience with the woman. What currently weighed on her mind was the fact that maybe Jack was right. Had Miranda gone out of her way to flirt with the Commander? She had on occasion caught herself stealing glances at Shepard. But it had always been out of curiosity more than anything. Hadn't it? Miranda's hesitation only seemed to add fuel to Jack's argument.

"Dammit, I was right! You do have an itch for Shepard." Miranda turned to argue the point, but was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash inside the storage room. The Cerberus operative quickly overrode the security locks on the door. When she and Jack made their way into the room, guns ready and with the blue haze of their biotics in full bloom. What they found, shocked both women. Shepard stood hand in hand with a towering Krogan.

"Ladies, I'd like you to meet Grunt. He's going to be helping us out. At least until he feels I am no longer worthy of his prowess." Miranda couldn't help but notice Shepard's look of satisfaction on his face. Jack seemed to notice it as well.

"Damn Cheerleader. How many times is he going to prove you wrong?"

~o~0~o~

Commander Shepard checked the MAAG on his battle armor. According to its readout, the planet was oxygen rich. He was pleased to find out he'd be able to breathe without a mask. Despite the bitter cold and howling winds, he wanted to take in his surroundings unobstructed. He wanted to see the wreckage without the tint of his visor and the internal HUD. He placed his helmet on the bench inside the Kodiak drop ship. He left his weapons as well. According to EDI there was zero life signs on the frozen planet. It was fitting, he thought, that his fallen ship and those souls who were now entombed within its wreckage now made their home upon the ice of a cold dead planet. Shepard thought back to a trip he had taken with his father when he was a boy. When he was still a young child, perhaps even before Elena had been born, he couldn't remember, his father had taken he and his brother to Pearl Harbor. There, just below the surface of the water, were the American warships that were sunk in a surprise attack. The crews of the ships that were trapped inside of the sinking ships were never recovered, their bodies forever entombed in the ships that they served so bravely on. Shepard walked amongst the wreckage of his former ship. He was amazed that the majority of the Normandy had finally come to rest relatively close together. Mordin theorized that it was due to the planet's irregular magnetic field.

"_It's quiet isn't it? I always liked the quiet._" Shepard simply nodded at the woman that stood at his side.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this, you know?" He bent down and examined a glint of medal in the snow. It was a set of Alliance issue dog tags. The name wasn't one he recognized. He tucked it into the ammo pouch he wore on his leg. "I had a plan. This wasn't it."

"_God is the one with plans. The rest of us only have ideas."_ He laughed at the woman. It wasn't a laugh of spite, but one at the simplicity of the woman's response. _"You can stop laughing Skipper, I'm dead. I know what I'm talking about."_ She pointed towards another dog tag near the site of the CIC.

"So how's Heaven?"

Ashley ran her hand over the lifeless command console. _"God's nice enough. Reminds me of my Grandfather."_ She resumed walking at his side. _"He has a plan for you Skipper."_

Shepard became slightly angry. "God has a plan for me? Just what kind of plan has me living in a world where you're dead?" The young woman remained undeterred.

"_It's a plan that has you saving all sentient life."_

"Just how am I supposed to do that? I couldn't even save the woman I loved."

"_And I loved you. You were and always will be my 'Captain O' Captain'. You made a choice, we all did. I don't regret mine, please don't regret yours." _There was a sadness in the woman's face. _"A war is coming Skipper. If my death provides some form of preparing you to make the difficult choices, then I did my part."_

Shepard sat down on the cold ice, leaning against the broken chassis of the Mako. "Do you know how this plays out?"

Ashley smiled at him. _"Yeah Skipper I do. It's one of the perks of being dead. I've seen your future. Let me just say that it's simply…outstanding."_

Shepard looked at her. "Do I make it out alive?" She didn't answer his question. Instead she simply smiled at him and glanced off in the distance, the way she would when she was still alive. Ashley turned and walked to a nearby section of the fractured hull. Shepard stood and followed her. She bent down and picked up a piece of the wreckage.

"_Give this to HER. She's waiting for you. When judgment comes, it will be her standing at your side." _Shepard looked down at the object that she'd handed him.

"Her? Who are you talking about."

"_Now where's the fun in telling you everything. You're a big boy Skipper; you'll figure it out.." _The spectral image of Ashley Williams leaned in close to him. _"You're stronger than you think you are. And when she's with you, you'll be invincible. I'm sorry we didn't have our chance together. Goodbye John." Shepard felt her lips press against his own. He closed his eyes to fight back the sting of tears he felt beginning to form. After a moment he reopened his eyes, to see that he was in fact alone amidst the Normandy's remains. He looked down at the object in his hands. Tucking it under his arm, he slowly walked back to the Kodiak and returned to the new Normandy. _

_Shepard sat the drop ship carefully into its perch aboard the Normandy. After a second of decompression the doors of the transport opened. Miranda stood in the docking bay hands behind her back seemingly waiting for him. Quickly he thought back to Ashley's words. Miranda walked forward to meet him._

"_Commander, I trust you found whatever it was that you were looking for?" Shepard smiled to himself. _

"_I guess you can say that." Tossing her his souvenier from the surface, he replied. "Keep it. It's a gift."_

_Miranda looked curiously at the item. She ran her fingers over the scarred surface. She was careful with the fractured glass of the visor. Using her thumb, she was able to remove some of the grime that blocked the familiar N7 emblem. "Your helmet? I don't understand."_

_Shepard smiled at her. "I don't either, but I think you're supposed to have this." Miranda looked at the Commander with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, before turning her attention back to the helmet. She opened her mouth to say more, but found that Shepard had already exited the bay._

"_Thank you."_


	6. Chapter 6

Lt. Commander Kaidan Alenko liked Horizon. With its lakes, streams, plains, and abundant wildlife, it really wasn't all that different from colony that he had been a boy on. The only drawback seemed to be the people. Many of those on the colony had moved out here to be away from the regulations and oversight of the Alliance. In the years that had followed his departure from his own home world, Kaidan Alenko had become one of the most recognized faces in the Alliance. He literally had become a poster boy for the Alliance, its beliefs, and its principles. So it hadn't come without a few raised eyebrows and suspicious glances when he arrived at Horizon under the guise of a goodwill ambassador. Few of Horizon's residents were buying that story. In truth, Kaidan was on Horizon because it fit a profile; a profile that was created by Admiral Anderson in the investigation of several missing human colonies. Anderson had sent Alenko to find out what was happening and do whatever was necessary to see that it didn't happen again. He'd vowed to do his job, even if the locals were less than accommodating.

Kaidan never wanted to be a soldier. The warrior's life had never appealed to him. As a boy, he sought a life of art and design, a life similar to the ones led by his parents. Wherever he looked, he saw colors, lines, and shapes that brought life to the world. He loved his home and his family's life. The idea of leaving and traveling through the stars had never appealed to him, not the way that it did for so many others. Of course that was all before the dreams began. At the same age when most boys were beginning to dream about girls and the like, Kaidan dreamt about chaos. His dreams were filled with disaster; winds that blew buildings apart, waves that capsized large sailing crafts, and tremors that forced the ground to crack open. More often than not, the dreams would pass without incident, just a minor headache or nosebleed, but it was on rare occasion that he would wake up to find everything in his room circling him as if in orbit around his body. He himself would always radiate with a blue-tinted fire. Kaidan was only a boy, but he knew enough to recognize that this wasn't normal. He was truly terrified, but what scared him more was the reaction of his parents. They didn't seem to look at him with fear, but more so with sadness.

After several months of the dreams and awaking to the blue flame, a man came to see the Alenko family. The man's name was Dagget and he represented something called the Alliance. Kaidan's parents listened to Mr. Dagget as he told them about a special program for kids like Kaidan. The Alliance was willing to foot the bill for educating Kaidan. In exchange he would be required to serve a small period of time in the Alliance military. Mr. Dagget called him a biotic. He had no idea what the word meant, but his parents showed no sign of confusion. His mother told the story of her 'exposure'. Mr. Dagget took notes as the story was shared. After he'd heard enough, Mr. Dagget thanked the Alenko's for their time. He then shook Kaidan's hand and wished him well. It wasn't long after Mr. Dagget's visit that Kaidan found himself on a transport ship headed to 'Brain School' as a few of the other children called it. He'd never blamed his parents for making the decision to send him to the BAAT program, but often he wished they'd spent more time examining the small print.

The darkness of Alenko's living quarters was quickly burned away by the brightness of the morning's first light. Instinctively, he threw up his hands protecting his maladjusted eyes from the overwhelming glare. Through the haze of his slowly clearing vision, he stared at the woman dressing at the end of his bed. Slowly, he sat up.

"You weren't thinking of sneaking out of here in the middle of the night, were you?"

The woman finished snapping the buckles on her work boots. "Its morning Commander, and I have a colony to run." Lilith smiled as she tossed his shirt at him. "And don't you have some secret government spying to do?" Kaidan grumbled as he climbed out of the bed and began the search for his pants.

Lilith had proven to be a breath of fresh air for Kaidan Alenko. She was one of the few that believed that the Alliance soldier was truly at the colony with a good goal. While a majority of the colonists didn't believe the claims that he was there to spy on the burgeoning settlement, they still remained suspicious of his intentions. The Alliance Commander tried his best to assuage the fears of the people in the colony, but there was a hurdle that he couldn't ignore. Kaidan hadn't come to Horizon alone. He'd arrived with a wide assortment of Galaxy class defense turrets. These 'gifts' from the Alliance, had drawn a large amount of criticism from many. A large group of settlers thought that the turrets would bring unwanted attention to the colony. Everyone had heard the rumors of colonies going missing, however few truly believed in the legitimacy of the claims. Kaidan however knew the truth in the stories of the missing colonies, and he was determined to make sure that Horizon didn't share the same fate.

Kaidan snapped the last piece of his armor into place. Lilith waited patiently at the door. Stepping out of his habitat he saw that the colony was already very much alive. Men and women moved about, all heading to their many destinations. The shutters of store shops rolled open, various machinery could be heard in the distance, and children grumbled in the early morning as they headed to school. In all the activity, Kaidan found himself walking alone. He turned and saw Lilith standing among a small group of people, their attention all turned to the sky.

"Lilith?"

The woman pointed to the sky. "Kaidan what is that?" Alenko drew his weapon and looked through the scope. What he saw would haunt him forever.

~o~0~o~

Garrus and Grunt had had their hands full. The sparring session they'd agreed to had suddenly taken a different turn. Humans were by nature a weaker species, but the amount of force behind Shepard's strikes, was quickly disproving that notion. Even Grunt had been sent reeling back on more than one occasion. Jack had come down to the loading bay to take part, but after seeing the anger that was behind Shepard's eyes, she'd simply resigned to watching. The mission on Horizon had been a partial success. While stopping the Collectors from taking all of the colonists, there had still been casualties. But what had set Shepard off, had been the bitter reunion with Kaidan Alenko.

Miranda stood in the doorway to the loading bay. She carried a folder and a look of concern on her face. On the surface of Horizon Shepard had stood up for her in the face of Alenko's taunts and threats. It was a strange feeling, one that she'd never experienced. After a moment the Commander took notice of the worried look on his XO's face.

"Miranda, is there a problem?" He stepped out of the way of a charging Grunt. The momentum of the krogan couldn't be stopped and he crashed into a stack of food stores.

"Jackass." laughed the ex-con. Jack and Grunt shared a quick stare down before Shepard dismissed them all. Waiting for the bay to empty, Miranda stepped towards Shepard.

"Commander, I have a problem. And I need your help." Shepard looked at her confused. In the time He'd known her, she wasn't the type that asked for help.

"What do you need?"

Miranda handed him the folder. "It's my sister."

~o~0~o~

Miranda had grown tired of being pranced around like one of Henry's prized show ponies. This is why her latest protest seemed aptly appropriate. It had come at the unveiling of the newest biotic implant developed by Lawson Industries. Henry claimed that the implant would increase reaction times with minimal fatigue output. Miranda knew that the implant was capable of meeting Henry's claims, but she was one of the few that knew of the implants side effects, side effects that her father had gone to extreme lengths to hide from the general public and his military contracts. Miranda assumed that it was this neglect and exploitation over desperate biotics, which finally had pushed her over the edge. And so as it came to pass, Miranda chose Henry's big night to stage her rebellion.

Dr. Lawson was being thanked and congratulated by another in a long line of military brass, when he first noticed that something as amiss. The guests in the large reception hall began to fall silent, their attention on the newest arrival currently standing in the large entryway. On the surface Henry remained calm and stoic, however inside he was raving mad. In the entryway of the large room stood the Doctor's fifteen year-old daughter Miranda. The girl stood wearing what appeared as a horse blanket and a wreath of roses around her neck. Henry motioned for one of his guards. The man nodded and then hurriedly escorted Miranda from the party. The party goers returned their attention to their host. Henry Lawson put on his best smile and simply explained.

"Teenagers."

With a laugh and smattering of light applause, the guests went back to their activities. Henry continued to smile and shake hands; he imagined all the ways he would make his dear daughter regret her little stunt.

Unlike her father's, Miranda's smile was very real. As was her satisfaction in knowing that she'd managed to disrupt, however brief, her father's night. While she was being escorted back to her room, she took time to greet all that she passed. Most continued to look at her in shock mixed in curiosity. The man in charge of returning her to her quarters gave her a small cough.

"I'm betting it took you most of the afternoon to come up with that one?" Miranda finally took notice of the man walking with her in stride. It was Tinsley, her father's chief of security. The man, while approaching his fifties, didn't appear a day over thirty-five, an obvious benefit to being in the employ of Henry Lawson. Tinsley was unrivaled when it came to running and executing the security procedures of all of Lawson's holdings. But as talented as he was, Miranda knew the man was a sadist, a fact that Henry overlooked due to Tinsley's abilities to get results. Miranda was afraid of the man, but it wasn't a fear for her own safety, but for the safety of Tinsley's son Niket. Niket was a quiet and reserved young man, who despite being a capable security officer in his own right, was often bullied by his father. Tinsley often assigned Niket to duties that ill fit his talents and highlighted his weaknesses. Miranda had always assumed that the older man got a perverse pleasure in the boy's humiliation. Yet despite everything his father had tormented him with, Niket remained a good hearted individual. While she didn't share in his naiveté, Miranda had struck up a friendship with the boy.

Miranda gave a false smile to the security chief. "I wouldn't say all afternoon, I did have a shooting lesson after all." Tinsley gave her a humorless chuckle, the type that chilled Miranda to the bones.

When they arrived at her quarters, Tinsley surprised her by grabbing hold of her arm. The taller man then closed the gap between the two of them.

"You play a dangerous and stupid game child. Henry Lawson is a powerful and ambitious man." He looked around, seemingly making sure that they were alone in the corridor. "If we don't play by his rules, we can all be replaced. Even you Princess." With those words he released her and made his way back to the party. Miranda watched the man and was confused more than ever.

~o~0~o~

It took Miranda almost six hours to hack through the many firewalls of her father's private network. It had proven to be a little more difficult than she'd originally planned. It had been a year since she'd left Sydney and her father, in which time it seemed that Henry had spent a remarkable amount of time beefing up his security protocols. After navigating through terabytes of some of his deeper perversions, she stumbled upon a file that piqued her interest. The file was simply titled "Project Miranda". Knowing that her hack could be detected at any moment, she copied the file onto her local drive. Still feeling a little vindictive, she forwarded some of the more salacious contents to Alliance officials. Miranda knew enough to know that no legal action would be taken against Henry, but he would be made uncomfortable for several hours having to explain the contents of some of those files. Dr. Lawson would probably have to make several "donations" to make it all go away.

After severing the connection, to Henry's files, Miranda opened the file that shared her namesake. Inside were countless intelligence reports about possible locations, sightings, and known associates, most of which were fake and inaccurate, plants put into place by her new employers. But it was one report that drew her attention. A report titled "Legacy" was three times larger than anything else she'd managed to copy. As she read its contents she became horrified and appalled. For the last thirty years, Henry Lawson had been working on a project in which to create the perfect human genome. A genome that in time, would serve as a marker of perfection, and generate billions in revenue from people seeking to imprint their own offspring with the "perfect" gene. Miranda sat back in her chair. None of what she'd read had made any sense, if anything, it proved that Henry Lawson was above all else, insane. She returned her attention to the files, this time reading her father's own notes.

"_I think I've done it. Test subject #16-C, designated "Miranda" appears to be a success. In utero, brain capacity is 3 times any of our previous attempts, and 8 times that of a 'normal' human. Bonding exposure to the Element Zero was a complete success as well. I expect that the subject's biotic capabilities will be substantial. Perhaps not as powerful as my first attempt with Subject Zero, but at least this one won't be a risk to go insane. Of course all physical traits have been carried over from previous attempts. I was always fond of the anomalous nose shape from "Annabelle" (test #7-F) so I've continued that particular caveat from the original design. Unfortunately with the success of "Miranda", that means that all other existing tests will have to be terminated. I will let Tinsley handle the exterminations. After the "Jennifer" incident, it's best not to leave the researchers responsible for cleanup."_

Miranda reread Henry's notes several more times. Each time she hoped for some sign of fabrication from the man she hated so much. Slowly however, the truth began to sink in. Miranda had been created in a lab, the last in a production line to create Henry Lawson's idea of the 'perfect' human. She quickly searched the records to find how many had come before her. The best she could get was an approximation of thirty-three cases before her own "birth". She curiously looked up the "Jennifer incident" but found no record. The revelation of her creation had almost proven too much for Miranda. She was about to close the file when she noticed another of Henry's notes, this one dated only eight months ago.

"_Miranda has continued to elude her pursuers. I can only assume that she has received assistance. I've made inquiries, albeit quiet ones, into Alliance channels that owe me a few favors, all have come up empty. Terra Nova doesn't have the resources to keep her hidden for more than a few days, and no one within that pitiful collation is going to risk making an enemy out of myself. This leads me to believe that Jack and his outfit might be protecting her. If that is the case, than her retrieval might prove to be difficult. I am as of this moment giving up my goal of capturing Miranda with the intent of reassimilation into the 'Legacy' project. Therefore, I have submitted new orders to both the Blue Suns and Eclipse mercenary bands. Their new orders have been expanded to include a kill order to the standing capture request. I have decided to move forward with "Project Margaret". Unlike previous incarnations, I will not be exposing this subject to Element Zero. I learned my mistake with Miranda, and it nearly cost me my life. "Margaret" will begin immediately. _

For the second time Miranda sat in shock. Not only had Henry known that she was with Cerberus, he had begun the Legacy project again. She flipped through the files until she found what she was looking for.

~o~0~o~

Miranda remained hidden in the tree line, just out of sight of the roving security cams. She'd used her contacts within Cerberus, to find where her father had been spending most of his time. Unfortunately, her plan of action just happened to coincide with a date that he had traveled off world. It was no matter, it wasn't Henry that Miranda had come for, at least not today. Checking the schematics to the facility one more time, she waited for her opening. Staying low, she sprinted towards the main gate. Using her biotics, she vaulted herself over the fence, taking out two patrolling guards in the process. She didn't bother taking the time to hide the unconscious men, yet stopped to swipe one of their passkeys. She swiped the passkey at the door to the main building. Slowly and quietly she ducked into the corridor. She made her way deep into the building until she found her objective.

There in the middle of the lab, lay a small infant sleeping in a plexi-glass crib. Cautiously, she approached the sleeping baby. She reached down and touched it on the cheek. Reactively, the baby cooed, causing Miranda to jump.

"I told you that even you could be replaced." She turned to find Tinsley in the room, his weapon trained on her. He cocked the gun and fired. Miranda instinctively threw up a barrier protecting herself and the child. Tinsley kept the pressure on. Miranda used the remaining power to knock the security chief against the wall, Tinsley's weapon falling to the wayside. She threw herself atop the downed man and used a biotically charged punch to pacify the man. The baby had woken up, its cries filling the lab. Miranda picked up the child, it stopped its fit. She took notice of the small band around the small girl's wrist.

"Margaret? Who bloody came up with that terrible name?"

"You-you'll never get away with this." Tinsley crawled across the floor towards the pair, too weak to stand. "We'll find you. And when we do…you're gonna wish you'd died." Miranda held the child tight and stood over the beaten man.

"Perhaps. But I'm afraid you'll not be present on that day." Miranda pressed Tinsley's own weapon against his head and pulled the trigger. She returned her attention to the infant. "Margaret? Well we'll have to do something about that. What do you think about…Oriana?" The baby gave her a giggle. "Oriana it is."


End file.
